IMA International Mutant Academy
by cavaner
Summary: Due to the FAYZ in Perdido Beach, California, an academy has been set up in case another FAYZ occurs. This academy is called IMA  International Mutant Academy and takes on 10-18 year olds and teaches them how to control their powers. OCs required!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys and gals, I have just finished reading the 'Gone' series by Michael Grant and have loved it, so I thought it would be interesting to write a fanfic based on it. Here's the OC form, as I would like the characters who go to IMA to be your OCs!

Please submit your OC via review or PM.****

**OC Form.**

**Name:**

**Nicknames (If any):**

**Age (This will be the age when their powers developed):**

**Place of birth:**

**Appearance:**

**Own clothes:**

**Academy uniform = White polo shirt with either a red or blue tie. Black trousers or skirt and black shoes (style up to you)**

**The different coloured ties represent the two houses; MU and MC. (You must chose one!) :**

**Personality:**

**Family:**

**Power (Be creative but explain throughly!):**

**Thoughts about power:**

**Catchphrases:**

**Superhero name (If your character is the sort of person who would have one) :**

**History:**

**What does your dorm room look like:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Hobbies:**

**Friends:**

**Enemies:**

**Crushes:  
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>I hope this is alright and you guys submit OCs! These last three don't have to be completed now; you can wait until more OCs have been submitted.<p>

Finally, I hope you guys support this idea and send in your OCs, but I will not include any of your OCs if the form isn't completed properly!


	2. Chapter 2

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are you****r guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter One.

Daniel King was lucky in a way. Being from London, the move to Manchester wasn't such a long one.

Yet, despite the short drive in comparison to those who were being flown in to Manchester from far away countries like America or Australia, the move was big for Daniel.

Daniel was 16 years old and was tall for his age, standing at six foot two. Daniel was muscular due to the large amount of physical activities he took part in. He had messy brown and bright blue eyes.

Having to permanently move away from his father and brother was hard for him, but deep down, Daniel knew that this was the right thing to do.

After all, it had all happened so fast.

The day before, Daniel had made his way into the heart of London.

Every year in England, on the 21st June, Londoners that were under the age of eighteen had to visit a stall in Camden. However, his thirteen year old brother was at home with a cold and couldn't come that day.

Well, every year since the FAYZ that is. Since the incident at Perdido Beach in California, the children would arrive in Camden and have to speak to Diana.

Diana was a well known mutant, as she was a survivor of the FAYZ. She had the power to detect powers, and she used it on all the kids. 25 years had passed since the coming down of the FAYZ yet Diana was still a stunning woman.

Any found with a power, no matter how strong, would be taken to IMA.

That afternoon, Daniel made his own way to Camden. Upon arrival, he made his way over to where Diana was set up.

The queue to see her was full of children like them. Most of the kids approached Diana and shortly left the line, happy and content.

However, every so often, Diana would pause during her reading and call a name.

Her colleague who was standing behind her would step forward in response and lead the kid by the hand behind the stall before quickly coming back to Diana.

As time passed, Daniel was silent, but eventually Daniel arrived at the front of the queue.

Then, Diana called wearily, "Next."

Daniel stepped forward and Diana smiled, "Hey."

Daniel replied, "Hey Mrs Ladris, you look beat."

Diana sighed, "I am. Now let's get down to business.

Without saying a word, Diana took hold of his hand after Daniel had sat across from her, and paused.

The two people looked deep into each others' eyes as Diana grasped Daniel's hands with hers.

Their eyes locked and for a second, nothing happened. Then, Daniel saw Diana's eyes slowly grow wider.

Daniel then saw as her lips came together and spoke a single word, "Jack."

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw Diana's friend, who was relatively small and skinny for someone his age and had blond hair and glasses, began to move forward.

Daniel leapt out of his chair and the others in the queue gasped.

Daniel took two steps before Jack put his arms around his waist.

Daniel instantly felt the immense pressure and stopped trying to escape as he knew it was useless.

Diana then said, "At least we know your power's not super speed, otherwise you might have got away from us."

The man called Jack laughed, "Or super strength, then we might have had some problems."

Diana nodded, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind Jack, but 'the Breeze' would freak if there was another like her."

Jack laughed at this and then turned his attention to the boy he had in his colossal grasp, "We're not going to hurt you, okay?"

Daniel nodded as he had now composed himself. The skinny man began to slacken his inhumane grip on the boy who then stood up by himself.

The mutant with super strength then said whilst pushing his glasses up, "What's your name kid?"

Daniel said nervously, "Daniel King."

Diana nodded, "Ok then Jack, take Daniel to the van and I'll finish up here. Just keep an eye out for him."

Daniel wasn't quite sure what she meant by that last remark and Jack was quick to grab his hand, trying not to accidentally crush it.

As Daniel was dragged away, he looked over his shoulder and saw Diana turning back and dealing with the other kids, which wasn't actually a lot and Daniel realized he must have been fairly near the back of the queue.

Then, Daniel turned his head in the direction he was being dragged and realized that he and Jack had arrived at a white van.

Daniel chuckled at the irony of kids being taken away in a white van and supposedly being safe, which attracted some weird looks from the super strong male who decided to ignore the chuckling teen with a shrug before opening the back of the van.

In the van were three people; a young boy and girl, both roughly around Daniel's age and

an older woman who looked youthful at heart. The back of the van had two benches, one nailed down to either side, the two girls sat on one with the boy on the other.

The woman was tapping her foot impatiently whilst the other two kids were sitting quietly, until the doors opened.

The woman instantly shouted, "Jack! Is Diana nearly done yet? All this waiting around is bugging me."

Jack laughed at the woman, "Nearly Brianna, not long to wait now."

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Daniel's head as he recognized the woman. She was another survivor of the California FAYZ, like Jack and Diana.

Super speed. That was her power. She claimed to be faster than a bullet and was obviously a powerful mutant. However, it was clear that being able to move at such incredible speeds really does make it annoying when you're not moving at all.

Brianna then realized for the first time that Jack was not alone. The girl asked, "Who's this?"

The two kids then looked up to see the new boy. Jack replied, "Name's Daniel King."

Brianna was quick to say, "What power Jack?"

Jack paused, "I'm not quite sure. Diana just said to keep an eye on him."

Brianna nodded, clearly frustrated at not knowing everything.

She then said, pointing to the bench opposite, "Come on Daniel, take a seat."

Daniel obeyed and sat opposite the woman and Jack stepped inside the van before closing the doors behind him.

Brianna then asked, "So what's your power then?"

Daniel replied simply but truthfully, "I don't honestly know. I just came for the routine check, but I've never had any problems with a power. Diana said I had one, so here I am."

Brianna nodded understandingly, "Well, Diana's never wrong."

Then, Daniel's eyes drifted towards the two other kids in the van.

He had never seen the boy before, but instantly recognized the girl.

Daniel spluttered, "Naomi, is that you?"

The girl looked up and smiled at the boy, "Hey Danny, long time no see."

Brianna frowned, "Do you guys know each other?"

The girl called Naomi nodded, "Yeah, we go to the same school."

Naomi's full name was Naomi Mantle and like Daniel, was 16 years old. She was average height for a girl her age, but was truly stunning, with long blonde hair, piercing green eyes and just as an athletic body as Daniel.

The two had long been friends and were rivals when it came to sport and music, but friends all the same.

Brianna grinned, "Well, why don't you show Daniel what you can really do Naomi?"

Naomi hesitated slightly before nodding. Naomi then reached across the van and grabbed Daniel's hand.

Daniel however did not put up a fight and he let Naomi take his hand.  
>Then, for the first time, Daniel realized there was a slight indent from where Jack had gripped his wrist previously.<p>

Naomi began to run her fingers over it and after feeling a slight prickling sensation, when Daniel looked again, the indent was gone.

Naomi sheepishly put her hands on her lap, as did Daniel, before he asked, "So you're a healer then?"

Naomi shook her head, "Not quite."

Brianna interrupted "She doesn't heal like Lana, she actually reverses things. For example, with a bit of training, I'm sure she'll be able to unlock something that's been locked or something like that!"

Daniel smiled at the girl, "Wow, that's really cool Naomi. I wish my power's half as cool."

Then Brianna turned towards the other boy had said nothing up to now. She said, "Come on Nathanial, you're going to have to get to know both Daniel and Naomi so why don't you tell them about your power?"

Nathanial looked around the van before nodding, "Ok then. I'm Nathanial Orion and like you guys, I'm from London, well, apart from Jack and Brianna who are obviously from California!"

Both Daniel and Naomi nodded before Nathanial added, "I think it's probably best if I show you my power."

Then, Nathanial closed his eyes and nothing happened instantly. Then, after several seconds, Nathanial's hand spontaneously combusted into blazing red flames.

Daniel and Naomi almost jumped out of their skin at the sight before the flames disappeared.

Daniel gulped, "That's one heck of a power Nathanial."

The boy nodded, "I'm sure with a little practice it'll get better."

Suddenly, a loud knock could be heard on the van's doors.

Jack opened the door to find Diana standing outside alone.

Jack sighed, "No more?"

Diana nodded, "No more."

Then Brianna jumped up from her seat, "Oh, can I drive back to IMA?"

Diana nodded, "Sure. Just two things: remember we're in England so drive on the other side of the road and even though you may have super speed 'Breeze', there are still things called speed limits."

Brianna huffed, "No fair. The 'Breeze' never gets to have any fun."

Brianna jumped out of the back of the van and made her way to the driver's seat.

Diana climbed in and shut the doors, before Jack sat next to Daniel whilst Diana sat next to Naomi.

Diana sighed, "I wish Brianna would stop talking about herself in the third person, it really is getting annoying."

Jack placed a consoling hand on her shoulder, "That's the Brianna we all love; sometimes we just have to deal with it. Anyway, you look knackered."

Diana put her head in her hands, "I feel it. I can't wait to get back to IMA."

Jack nodded, "Me too Diana."

Then, the van fell silent before they could all here Brianna shout, "And we're off!"

The van sprung to life and then Daniel realized he was truly leaving London for Manchester without any possessions or seeing his family with a group of strangers apart from Naomi.

Daniel sighed because despite all this, he couldn't wait to start his new life at IMA and finally discover his own power.

**Hey guys and gals, I hope you enjoyed the first proper chapter of my new fanfic. I really enjoyed the books and saw that no-one had done a fanfic like this one, that I had seen, so I thought I'd do so!**

**Please send in your Ocs because like my other fanfics, I really like you, the readers, to be envolved and what better way than to have your own characters being main characters and interacting with Daniel. If you feel like submitting an OC, do so through PM or review and use the OC form in the first chapter.**

**Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am always happy to help!**


	3. Chapter 3

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Two

The van was relatively quiet on the journey to Manchester. Every so often, the kids would ask each other something, in order to try and get to know those who they would be staying with, but Diana and Jack sat quietly, clearly tired.

Every so often, the 'Breeze' could be heard swearing loudly and commenting on either the audacity of speed limits stopping her, the 'Breeze', from really getting anywhere or the driving of others.

Then, after a couple of hours, the van ground to a halt.

Diana and Jack looked up, unsure of what was happening. Jack said, "We can't be at IMA yet, can we?"

Diana shook her head, "No."

Suddenly, the doors flew open. Standing at the door was Brianna.

Diana barked, "What are you doing, we've got a schedule to keep!"

Brianna shrugged, "I know, and we'll keep it. Just stopping for a coffee break."

The whole van looked at Brianna who grinned, "What? I'm thirsty. Anyway, it's not like I'm going to be long."

Diana shook her head, "Come on 'Breeze', what happened to acting normal. If you want coffee, we'll have to queue like everyone else."

Brianna huffed, "You're such a kill joy Diana."

Then, with a nod from Jack; Diana, Daniel, Nathanial and Naomi followed Jack out of the van and the group saw that Brianna had parked at a service station.

They walked as a group, with Brianna leading them, towards the entrance of the service station.

Upon walking through the entrance, the group instantly halted after hearing the sound of alarms.

The group looked from side to side before realizing that it wasn't them who had set off the alarms.

Then they realized that the noise was coming from a shop about ten meters in front of them.

The culprit was a boy who looked about Daniel's age. He had short black hair and looked muscular. He was a little taller than Daniel and was wearing a simple red T-shirt with jeans and white trainers.

In his arms were a load of chocolate bars and drinks which he had obviously stolen.

He began running to the exit and tried his best to run past the group of mutants standing in the doorway.

A foolish mistake.

Jack grabbed hold of the fleeing boy and stopped him in his tracks.

The boy attempted to get away but was unable to break Jack's vice like grip.

Nathanial chuckled, "Didn't anyone ever tell you stealing was wrong?"

Jack nodded, "He's right."

The boy, not sure what to do, hissed, "Let me go."

Brianna laughed, "I don't think he knows who we are!"

The boy grinned, "I don't think you know who I am."

Suddenly a pillar made of solid earth came crashing through the concrete floor and into Jack.

Jack, with his feet on the earth pillar, was pushed upwards, straight towards the ceiling.

The other people in the service station began to scream and shout and began to hide behind overturned tables.

Jack used his strength to place his hands on the roof and stop himself from being crushed, but was finding it hard to escape.

With Jack stuck trying to stop himself from being crushed, Brianna cried, "Damn you!"

Then, just as she was about to go full pelt at the mutant boy, the boy noticed and subtly flicked his wrist upwards.

Just as quick as Brianna, a solid wall of earth rose from the ground and the super sonic woman collided with it with a loud thud.

Brianna hit the floor, completely unconscious.

The boy looked slightly shocked at the sight, obviously not meaning to do so much damage.

However, he realized that he couldn't stop now he had started to defend himself and said calmly, "I tried to warn you."

Then, with both offensive mutants incapacitated, something clicked inside Daniel.

Instantly he barked, "Diana, get back and let us handle this."

Diana, not wanting to hide but knowing her power would be no good in this situation, unwillingly took cover.

Daniel turned to Naomi, "Get to work on reversing that pillar so Jack can get down, okay?"

The girl nodded and sprinted over to the earth pillar.

Daniel then said to the boy by his side, "Nathanial, you'll have to keep him busy whilst Naomi does her thing."

The boy nodded before facing the renegade mutant.

The protective wall had disappeared, but the boy was still having to work hard to keep Jack trapped.

Nathanial then said, "Ok, let's do this."

He let out a battle cry before his whole body burst into flames.

The boy controlling the earth was clearly surprised but had no time to hesitate as Nathanial then sent a jet of flames straight towards him.

The boy re-erected the wall of earth as protection, but was clearly feeling the heat.

Then Daniel looked over his shoulder and found that Naomi was running her hands over the pillar which was threatening to crash Jack.

Then, the pillar slowly began to creep downwards, influenced by Naomi, despite the boy's anguish.

Suddenly, Jack jumped and landed hard on the floor and stood up instantly.

The pillar, without Jack, proceeded to smash into the ceiling.

The boy cursed and let the pillar sink into the ground.

Daniel called, "Jack, get Brianna to cover and see if she's alright. Naomi, get over to Diana and stay there."

With no argument, the two mutants did as Daniel said.

However, now that he didn't have to worry about keeping Jack occupied, the boy kept the wall up with his left hand and began to throw large boulders towards the flame manipulator, Nathanial.

Nathanial continued to fire flames at the wall, but now that he had to sidestep the boulders as well, his fatigue levels were increasing.

Daniel knew Nathanial couldn't keep it up much longer so he shouted, "Hey, why are you fighting us? We could help you. Why were you stealing?"

The boy grumbled, "My parents took off, I've got to feed myself somehow, haven't I?"

Daniel nodded, "Yeah, ok."

Diana yelled from behind cover after hearing this, "Don't encourage him!"

Daniel ignored her, "But if you came with us, you would be fed. We're going to IMA. There, you could develop your power and help people, not have to steal to keep alive."

The boy paused and thought for a second before shouting, "How can I trust you?"

Daniel stared at the boy, "You'll just have to."

The boy thought again and said, "Tell hot head over here to stop firing at me and we'll talk."

Daniel gestured to Nathanial who reluctantly stopped, and all his flames disappeared.

The wall around the boy fell back into the ground and he sighed.

Daniel asked, "What's your name?"

The boy replied, "Andrew Castle."

Daniel then said, "You've got one hell of a power mate."

Then, Andrew's anger got the better of him and he shouted, "I'm not your mate!"

He kicked the floor and a large rock came up to around his eye level.

Just as it began to fall, Andrew adjusted his body and kicked the boulder in Daniel's direction.

The group could only watch as the boulder connected with Daniel's mid- drift and sent him flying backwards, straight into a vending machine.

Nathanial swore violently, "What the hell! He was only trying to be friendly."

Suddenly, a large crackle could be heard from where Daniel had landed as the now busted vending machine was letting off electricity.

Then, Daniel's body began to shake violently as the current passes into him.

Naomi cried, "Oh my god, get him off it!"

Jack however called, "No, if we get near it, it might fry us too."

Suddenly though, Daniel, eyes closed, began to rise up of the ground, surrounded by a blue aura.

Then, Daniel just dropped to the ground and his eyes opened.

Naomi gasped and Nathanial said, "Daniel, are you alright?"

Daniel grinned, "Alright? I feel great, and it's all thanks to Andrew."

Andrew scowled at the boy who continued to stretch like he had just woken up.

Then, he cracked his knuckles, and every time he did so, the unmistakable crackle of electricity could be heard.

Suddenly, annoyed at having been defied, Andrew lashed out and sent a boulder in Daniel's direction.

This time though, Daniel was ready and he stuck out his hands.

Through them came a pulse of electricity, like a shockwave which sent the boulder off course.

Andrew was shocked at the sight and Daniel grinned, "Time for you to be quiet now."

He pointed a single finger at the startled Andrew. From it a bolt of electricity erupted and struck Andrew.

The boy who had so easily manipulated the earth began to shudder. When Daniel clenched his fist, Andrew fell to the floor.

Naomi gasped and ran over to him. Daniel shrugged, "Don't worry; I think I only gave him enough juice to knock him out."

Naomi squealed, "You think? You should know before you do something like that Daniel."

Daniel nodded, "I know, but I only just discovered my power. Don't get me wrong, I feel great with electricity running through my veins, but I am not quite sure about everything yet."

Naomi nodded and Nathanial went over to congratulate Daniel on discovering his power and stopping Andrew.

"He was a nutcase," Nathanial said, "A strong mutant but a nutcase all the same. You were only being friendly and he lashed out!"

Finally, Jack and Diana had reached the three conscious teenagers and the one unconscious one. Brianna was lying in Jack's arms, unmoving.

Diana sighed, "He has a right to be annoyed. His parents did abandon him after all. Maybe he'll feel a bit better when we get him back to IMA."

Nathanial gasped, "We're taking him with us? He nearly killed Daniel and Jack!"

Jack replied, "He's a powerful mutant, we can't just leave him here. Anyway, we've been seen by too many people, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Jack then flung Brianna over one shoulder with ease before chucking Andrew over his other shoulder.

Then, the people in the service station who had been hiding from the fight began to make their way from behind the overturned tables.

Then, out of their pockets they pulled out mobile phones and began to take pictures.

Diana swore, "Damn, do you think you can do something about the lights Daniel?"

Daniel grinned, "Hell yeah."

Daniel rose up his hands skyward and braced himself as lots of lightning bolts flew from the lighting fixtures and into his body.

After several seconds, the whole service station went dark and Daniel began to pant out of exhaustion.

Nathanial slapped his back, "Excellent Daniel. Now let's get the hell out of here!"

Then, the group sprinted out of the service station and towards the van, ignoring the shouts of the people who had been left in complete darkness thanks to Daniel.

The group made their way to the van, where Naomi and Nathanial instantly clambered inside. Diana then put a hand on Jack's shoulder, "I'll drive."

Then as Diana made her way to the driver's seat, Daniel watched from outside the van as Jack placed both Brianna and Andrew on the benches inside the van before clambering in himself.

Daniel however began to feel faint as Jack turned to him from inside the van.

He could see but not hear Jack say, "Daniel? What's the matter?"

Then Daniel collapsed to the floor, just outside the van.

Jack began to shout, "Diana, quick, come here!"

Diana burst out of the van and swore.

"Well we've done great hey Jack, three unconscious mutants in one day!" Diana exclaimed sarcastically.

Suddenly a large bird circled over head, screeching loudly.

The last thing Daniel heard before he drifted off was Diana say "I wondered how long it would take before back up would arrive."

**Hey guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed that chapter and the first showing of Daniel's battle, even the first real fight in this fanfic.**

**In the next chapter, the group will arrive at IMA (one way or another), so I hope you look forward to it and I will try to post it as soon as possible.**

**Also, I am still looking for OCs so please, if you have enjoyed the chapters so far, feel free to submit an OC via review or PM, using the OC Form in the first chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Three

When Daniel awoke, he found himself in what looked like a hospital ward; however, there were only three beds.

Daniel's was in the middle of the three. To his right was an empty bed and to his left slept a boy with black hair.

Daniel's memory of the day before was a little hazy, but instantly recognized the boy as Andrew. The mutant with the power to control the earth, but who had a little bit of an anger problem, to put it lightly.

Then, Daniel realized who should have been in the other bed. Brianna had been knocked unconscious in the fight at the service station after running into a solid wall of earth, but she seemed to be missing.

Daniel then sat up in the hospital bed, but was immediately met with severe headaches for doing so.

Daniel cursed, at which time a woman entered the ward and approached Daniel's bed with a rather odd looking dog by her side, with blond fur and red streaks, who sat down by Daniel's bed.

She said, "Ah, you're awake. How are you?"

Daniel shrugged, "Not too bad. My head's killing me though."

The woman nodded in recognition and walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the room. She used a key that was hanging around her neck to unlock the drawer and from it, pulled out a bottle of pills.

She unscrewed the lid and took out one of the multicolored pills, poured a glass of water from a nearby tap and walked back over to Daniel.

The woman gave them both to Daniel and said, "Take it. It'll help with the headaches."

Daniel had no choice but to trust the woman and did as she said. Sure enough, the pain began to fade away, not totally, but just enough so Daniel could think clearly.

The woman then said, "The reason you're as alright as you are is Lana. When you see her, you should thank her."

Daniel tilted his head, "Who's Lana?"

The woman smiled, "You'll know when you see her. She's a mutant too you know. She can heal people, a modern day miracle worker that one."

Daniel asked, "Who are you then?"

The woman replied, "I am Dahra Baidoo. I'm here to look after you guys in case anything goes wrong."

Daniel looked at the floor, embarrassed.

Dahra grinned, "Oh yes Mr King, I've heard all about the service station. You did very well to stop Andrew here with Mr Orion and Miss Mantle, but don't you think you went a little too far."

Daniel nodded, "Probably. I was just trying to help and do what Diana said by turning off the lights."

Dahra laughed, "Well next time, use the light switch!"

Daniel grinned at this remark and then saw a woman standing in the doorway.

The woman said, "Well well, you're up."

Daniel smiled, "Hey 'Breeze', feeling any better?"

Brianna nodded as she approached the bed, "Yeah, thanks to you and Max."

Daniel paused, "You're welcome...but who's Max?"

Suddenly, the dog that had come in with Dahra and had sat beside Daniel's bed, began to change.

In a matter of seconds, the dog had transformed into a human boy, with blond hair with red streaks, explaining the unusual fur of the dog. The boy was of average height and had hazel coloured eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans and black trainers.

The boy waved casually, but Daniel was shocked by the sight and nearly leapt out of the bed, "What the...?"

The boy spoke with an American accent, "I'm Max Everdeen. I saved you last night at that service station."

Daniel stuttered, "But, how?"

Brianna answered for the boy, "You see, Max is an animal shapeshifter. He flew in the form of an eagle and simply picked all three of us up and brought us back here so Dahra and Lana could do their magic. Without him, we might not have made it!"

Max shrugged casually, "It was no bother. Flying's fun anyway."

Daniel asked, "But where are we?"

Dahra explained, "You made it to IMA Daniel. This is just the hospital wing."

Daniel nodded, "Ah, great! Well, I guess I should thank you then Max."

Max nodded in recognition before he started to walk towards the door.

Brianna however stopped him, "Wait Max. Remember to take Daniel to his room, if that's alright with Dahra?"

Dahra nodded, "Sure. Just don't go trying to drain something as big as yesterday, okay Daniel?"

Daniel nodded, "Sure thing Dahra."

Then, Daniel pulled back the covers to reveal he was still fully dressed. He pulled himself out of the bed, with some help from Max.

Brianna added, "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. I was told that lessons will start tomorrow for you Daniel and you too Max due to yesterday. And Jack told me to say thanks for handling yesterday so well Daniel."

Daniel nodded and heard Brianna say to Dahra, "Let me know when he wakes up, okay Dahra? I've got something to say to that boy."

Dahra laughed, "Okay 'Breeze', you'll be the first to know."

Daniel then followed Max out of the door and into what looked like a courtyard.

It was a large open area with a few kids in it. The area was a lawn, and was surrounded by columns.

Daniel was taken round the edge of the lawn and through some more doors.

He explained, "This building is the 'MU' dormitories. This is where you'll be staying. On the other side of the campus are the 'MC' dormitories."

Daniel asked, "What's the difference?"

Max replied, "Not much really. The pupils are either part of the MC house which is represented by a blue tie, or part of the MU house which is represented by a red tie."

Daniel exclaimed, "Like Manchester United and Manchester City!"

Max nodded, "Yeah, I've heard someone else say that. I'm not too found on soccer though."

Daniel laughed, "You should be, it's great!"

Max then explained, "The two houses compete against each other, once a week in the grounds outside the main building."

Daniel grinned, "Sounds good." 

Then, Max continued to lead Daniel through what looked like a common room, heavily decorated with red.

In the middle of the room were two people sitting on the lush, red sofa.

Daniel instantly recognized the pair and exclaimed, "Nathanial, Naomi!"

The two people turned round and stood up upon seeing the boy.

Nathanial grinned, "Hey Daniel, nice to see you up and about."

Naomi nodded, "Yeah, you gave us a real scare Daniel when you collapsed like that. I just knew you shouldn't have absorbed that much electricity."

Daniel smiled at the pair, "Don't worry, I feel much better now thanks to Max, Dahra and Lana."

Nathanial then asked, "Is the jerk up yet?"

Max replied, "The earth guy? No. He's still asleep."

Daniel then said, "Forget about Andrew. What about you guys, how did you get here?"

Naomi explained, "After you collapsed and Max had picked you, Brianna and Andrew up, Diana drove us here as quickly as possible. We arrived quite late so we got rooms here in the MU dorms. Today, we've just been looking round the Academy and waiting for you to wake up!"

Nathanial nodded, "That's right. We also got the day off lessons because of everything that happened yesterday."

Daniel smiled, "Nice one! So is everyone else in lessons?"

Max nudged the boy, "Yeah, they will be. I'll show you to your room now."

Daniel nodded and said, "See you tomorrow guys."

Both Nathanial and Naomi smiled at the boy as Max lead him to the end of the Common Room. There, there were two staircases.

Max said, "Left is for the girls. Right is for the guys."

Then, Daniel followed Max up the right staircase which led onto a corridor which contained many doors, presumably to people's rooms.

Daniel was taken down the corridor until Max stopped and gestured to a door, "This is it."

He pulled out of his jean pocket, a key card with Daniel's name written on it.

He handed it over to Daniel who said, "Thanks for everything Max."

Max shrugged, "No problem. See you tomorrow in the Dining Hall at 8:00 for breakfast."

Daniel exclaimed, "8:00! That's so early!"

Max nodded, "Yeah, but you get used to it eventually."

With that, Max Everdeen, the animal shapeshifter walked down the corridor and then the staircase, leaving Daniel alone.

Daniel sighed and turned to his door. He swiped his key card and the door swung open.

The room was simple, white walls, white ceiling and carpeted floor. In the room was a large double bed, a TV and a radio. In the corner there was a desk with a chair. There was also a window that looked out onto the courtyard.

Then, Daniel noticed the two doors, one that led into a wardrobe and the other into an ensuite bathroom, fitted with a bath, toilet, sink and shower.

Daniel whistled, "Wow, this place is sweet. So much better than our place back in London."

Daniel then approached his bed and found some clothes folded on the edge. There was a pair of black trousers, a white polo shirt, some socks and a pair of black shoes. On the pile was also a red and white tie, signifying Daniel's allegiance with MU.

Daniel placed the clothes on the desk and decided to have a shower.

Afterwards, despite not being that late, Daniel decided to retire to bed.

Underneath the pillows were a simple pair of black bottoms. Daniel put them on and climbed under the covers.

Daniel then, before drifting off to sleep, said to himself, "I think I'm going to enjoy it here."

**Hey guys and gals, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. No real action, but the introduction of a couple of characters, one of which with a pretty cool power.**

**I also hope you enjoyed the quick update!  
><strong>

**Next chapter, I hope to start lessons, so keep your eyes peeled for that! Also, I still need OCs so please send them in via review or PM, using the OC form in the first chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Four.

When Daniel awoke, he could see that it was light out. Daniel peered over at a clock that was resting on the desk, which read, "7:30".

Daniel sighed and decided that it was probably time to get up. He dragged himself out of the bed and over to his desk. He took off the bottoms and flung them over the chair, before freshening up and putting on the whole uniform.

After looking at himself in the mirror, he shrugged, "Could be worse." The top was a little tight to his chest, which made his muscular body become even more defined.

Daniel then tidied up the bed before making his way out of the room, the door locking shut behind him.

Daniel then made his way down the corridor and down the staircase. The Common Roomwasn't exactly full when Daniel arrived. There were two people in the room. One was a boy who was quite tall and had short black hair, dark brown eyes, a muscular build and a small goatee who was sitting in the corner of the room, reading a book.

The other was a blonde woman, sitting on the sofa in the middle of the Common Room.

After seeing Daniel come down the stairs, the beautiful woman stood up and stuck her hand out, "Hello Daniel, I'm Astrid Ellison."

Daniel gingerly shook the hand, "Hi."

Astrid continued, "I help run this place and we're glad to have you."

Daniel replied, "Well I'm glad to be here."

Astrid then asked, "I hope your room was okay?"

Daniel smiled, "It was great!"

Astrid continued, "You can personalize it at a later date if you want."

Daniel nodded, "That's good. By the way, do you know what happened to Andrew?"

Astrid raised an eyebrow, "Mr Castle? He is still sleeping in the hospital wing."

Daniel nodded in acknowledgement before Astrid said, "I heard about the service station. I was told you took charge of the situation very well and used your power effectively."

Daniel shrugged, "Thanks, I guess. I've still got a long way to go until I can fully control it though."

Astrid nodded understandingly before saying, "I'll take you to the dining hall if you would like?"

Daniel smiled, "That would be great thanks!"

Then, with the boy in the corner watching him carefully, Daniel and Astrid left the Common Room.

As they walked through the various winding corridors, Astrid explained that there were three lessons in a day, posted for each pupil on the notice board in the Common Room every morning.

Astrid then told Daniel to just follow others round until he got used to the Academy. After the second lesson was a lunch break, which could either be spent in the Dining Hall or in Manchester itself.

Astrid then explained that after dinner, on most nights, there would be challenges between MU and MC. These may be for a couple of pupils or all of the pupils, but it would be chosen randomly.

Astrid then explained that the prize would be money for each member of the winning house to spend in Manchester. She called it motivation. However, MC were on a winning streak and Astrid said that he might just be what MU need to turn it around.

By the time she had finished, the pair had arrived at a set of very large double doors.

Astrid pushed on one of them, which swung open. The hall itself was massive, with two large tables stretching the length of the hall, each sandwiched by wooden benches.

On the tables were lots of different foods, all of which looked delicious. However, there weren't actually many kids in the hall.

At first glance, Daniel reckoned there were about fifteen people, including himself and Astrid.

Astrid then said, after looking at Daniel, "Yeah, there just aren't many mutants anymore. Well, not many we can find. There are a couple more than this though, they'll be in town."

Daniel nodded, "Thanks for showing me around Astrid."

The woman smiled, "No problem Mr King. I expect great things of you."

Then, she turned away from the boy and casually strolled out of the hall.

Then, Daniel scanned the hall for any familiar faces and actually saw Nathanial and Naomi sitting at the far end of the hall.

He began to walk across the hall, but to do so, he had to walk past a group of three girls who had been giggling and watching him since he had entered with Astrid.

One girl, on the opposite side of the table called when he walked past, "Hey Sparky!"

Daniel turned to face the girl. She had long, brownie-blonde, dead straight hair. She had grey eyes and she was slim, tall and had long legs.

Daniel said, "Are you talking to me?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, we've heard all about your power. Why don't you take a seat?"

Daniel was about to say, "Thanks, but no thanks. I was going to sit over there."

Instead, Daniel said, "Sure." and sat next to one of the girls.

As soon as he had done it, he said, "Uh, sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'd better be off."

But before he could get up, the same girl said, "Don't worry hunny, sit a while."

Powerless to resist, Daniel continued to sit.

The girl said, "What's your real name Sparky?"

Daniel thought, "Why should I tell them?"

But instead said, "Daniel King, I'm from London."

The girl grinned, "Well I'm Noelle Daniels. This lovely lady beside me is Riley D'Antonio and the lady beside you is Aleine Chambers."

Daniel said, "Hey, I guess."

Aleine had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair that had natural curls in it, hazel/gray eyes with a black circle around the iris and white around the pupil. She had slightly tanned skin and freckles on the nose and cheeks. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail. She was wearing the standard Academy uniform along with a blue tie.

Riley was had long wavy chocolate brown hair going to her the bottom of her shoulder blades. She had sun-kissed Californian skin, and chocolate brown eyes that had gold flecks in them. She was about 5'7" with a pearly white smile and tined body. She also was wearing the Academy uniform with a blue tie.

All three girls fluttered their eyelashes at the boy who groaned.

Riley gasped, "What's the matter Daniel? Are we not interesting enough?"

Daniel shook his head, "Of course not...I'll eat here then."

Noelle giggled, "It's not like you have much choice!"

Daniel raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Aleine laughed at the confused boy, "Do you really not know what Noelle's power is yet?"

Daniel shook his head, "No, I don't."

Noelle leant forward, "You're still here because I want you here, get it?"

Daniel gasped, "You can make people do things!"

Noelle giggled, "You make it sound so...naughty, when you say it like that. To be blunt, I can persuade people to do the things I want them to."

Daniel frowned, "So why do you want me here?"

Noelle shrugged in a flirty way, "I don't know. I mean, you're pretty cute after all, you obviously work out and your power sounds...electrifying!"

Daniel laughed, "I feel like I should be thankful, but I don't like being messed with, okay Noelle?"

Noelle grinned, "Ok Sparky, no tricks. Scout's honour."

Daniel stood up and began to walk down the hall.

Riley exclaimed, "What was that Noelle? You let him get away."

Aleine scowled, "Yeah, I didn't even get to calm him down, if you know what I mean! We could get him to do anything, and it would be so easy!"

Noelle shook her head, "Well what if I don't want it to be easy! I'm going to get him without my powers. I did promise after all."

Riley shrugged, "Who cares? He was really cute! Why wait when we could get him tomorrow?"

Noelle replied, "Think how much more satisfying it will be if we 'tame' Sparky by ourselves!"

Aleine and Riley thought about this for a second before saying in unison, "Ok, we're in."

Noelle grinned, "Excellent. He's ours lady, all ours."

The three girls touched orange juice glasses before giggling together.

And Daniel was none the wiser.

When Daniel arrived at the far end of the dining hall, he sat down next to Nathanial and Naomi, who welcomed him with open arms.

He had enough time for some breakfast, but in a little while, a bell could be heard ringing.

Naomi and Nathanial stood up, "That must be the bell. We should probably head over to our first lesson then." Naomi said.

Daniel asked, "What about our plates?"

Nathanial shrugged, "Everyone else is leaving theirs. I suggest we do the same."

The three teens nodded in agreement and after Daniel stood up, the group headed towards the large doors.

As they reached them, they saw others heading off in different directions and Daniel stopped in his tracks, "But where is our first lesson?"

Nathanial and Naomi groaned, "Didn't you check the notice board?" Naomi asked.

Daniel grinned awkwardly, "Uh, no?"

Nathanial said, "Daniel! We have stamina drills on the playing field with Brianna, but we don't know about you."

Suddenly, someone tapped Daniel on the shoulder. He spun round to see Noelle Daniels standing there.

Daniel sighed, "What do you want Noelle. Or should I say, what can I do for you. It's not like you're going to give me a choice."

Noelle scowled, "I would never do that! I promised."

Daniel frowned, "You were serious?"

Noelle nodded, "Yep!" before winking, "This time anyway."

Daniel then said, "What do you want then?"

Noelle shook her head, "I don't want anything. I was just going to take you to your next class."

Daniel raised his eyebrows, "Really? What have I got?"

She explained, "Combat training. With Jack and Mr. Merriman."

Daniel turned to the others, "Guess I'm all sorted then guys. See you at lunch?"

They nodded, "See you at lunch."

With that, Naomi and Nathanial walked out of sight.

Daniel sighed, "Go on then Noelle, let's go."

Noelle squealed, "Yay!" She grabbed Daniel by the hand and began to run, shouting, "Come on, we can't be late!"

By the time the girl had stopped, Daniel was panting heavily.

Noelle sighed, "You're such a baby, Sparky. I think you're the one who needs to have the stamina lesson!"

Daniel scowled, "It's not my fault the lesson was such a long way away."

The pair were now standing outside one of the many gyms that the academy had. This one though was kitted out with training dummies, targets and weapons.

Daniel and Noelle entered and instantly, six pairs of eyes locked on them.

There were two male adults in the gym and four pupils, excluding Daniel and Noelle.

One of the teachers was Jack, a mutant adult with the power of super strength, who gestured for Noelle and Daniel to join the others.

Three of the pupils were girls, but the fourth was instantly recognized by Daniel. He was the boy who had been in the Common Room when he was approached by Astrid Ellison.

The other three however, were unknown to him.

Jack then said, "Hey guys. Daniel, I see you've already met Noelle. This is Lucy Winters, Narcissa Hendrix, Aydriann Kelly and Rafeal Recinos."

Daniel waved gingerly at his fellow pupils who nodded in recognition.

Lucy had short platinum blond hair cut into a messy choppy bob. She had an oval face and gray eyes. She stood at around 5'3, and had a slender frame.

Narcissa had shocking grey eyes, long chocolate brown hair and was of average height for a girl her age. She, like the others, was wearing the standard IMA uniform.

Aydriann was of average height, had blue eyes and blue hair and tanned skin.

Daniel then took a bit of a step back as he saw who Noelle had called Mr. Merriman.

The man was covered from head to toe in thick stone apart from where his face was. He was both tall and bulky and could easily scare most regular men.

The mutant said, "You're excused this once for being late, but it won't happen again, will it?"

Both Daniel and Noelle shook their heads. The mutant said, "Don't call me Mr. Merriman though. Call me Orc."

Daniel nodded before Jack continued, "Now that we are all here, we can begin Combat Training."

Orc carried on, "There will be no powers today unless told by either myself or Jack, clear?"

The group nodded and Jack said, "At the far end is long range weapons. Here are the short range weapons. At the other end there are some rings for hand to hand combat."

The group nodded and dispersed. Most went to the short range weapon section. The boy called Rapheal had picked up a sickle, Lucy had picked up a katana, and Narcissa had picked up two sharp daggers whilst Aydriann was wielding a simple staff like rod.

Noelle was the one who had wondered over to the long range weapon section. She had picked up a standard rifle and was feeling it in her hands.

Before Daniel could join her, he stopped in his tracks by huge, gravely hands.

Orc said, "Not you. I'm taking you privately for a bit. I want to see how you fair in the ring."

Then Daniel watched as the huge man hoisted himself up into the ring and put on a huge set of red boxing gloves.

Daniel then saw Orc grinning at him as he pounded his two fists  
>together. Daniel gulped and said to himself, "This may or may not hurt... and I wouldn't exactly put my money on the latter."<p>

**Hey guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed that chapter! A fairly quick update as well.**

**I really need some OCs guys, so don't be afraid to send one in! I have some really good ideas as how to introduce them!**

**PS. Please now add on the OC form if you're going to send one in, whether you want your character to be good or bad (conversions are also okay!).**


	6. Chapter 6

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Five.

After throwing back his shoulders and pulling himself together, Daniel put on a pair of blue boxing gloves.

He climbed into the ring and faced the huge man.

Orc nodded at Jack who rang the bell and the two prepared themselves.

Then, Daniel noticed that all the other pupils had stopped training and were watching him, circling the ring with Orc.

He turned his head to the right to see this, and then felt a powerful right hook connect with the back of his head. He hit the canvas hard, which was met with gasps by Jack and the other pupils.

Daniel landed so his back was on the canvas. His head was hurting but Daniel thought to himself, "I've got to show I'm alright."

He lifted his legs into the air and used his muscular arms on the ground to flip from the floor, back onto his feet.

Orc grumbled, "Nice move kid, but you need to pay attention. If you do that in a real fight, you won't just get knocked to the ground, you will be killed."

Daniel nodded, "Ok Orc, let's do this."

Then they began again. Orc had a very sluggish guard and threw slow punches. This allowed Daniel to dodge easily enough, and he didn't want another to connect as he now knew that they did in fact hurt...a lot.

Up to know, Daniel had been blocking and dodging, but then decided to go on the offensive.

He had boxed since he was a child and began to put together a combo of what he thought were powerful punches: jabs, hooks and uppercuts which avoided Orc's guard. However none of the punches seemed to hurt Orc and before Daniel could begin to block again, Orc delivered an uppercut into Daniel's chest.

Daniel doubled over and let out a shout. Orc stepped backwards and said, "You need to anticipate those, kid. You need to be quicker and think quicker."

Daniel straightened up and said, "Fine Orc. Just wait a minute."

Daniel wondered over to the edge of the ring where all the pupils were now standing and watching the sparring.

Daniel bent down and said, "Noelle."

The girl replied, "Yeah?"

Daniel then said, "Give me your phone. I need a little help."

Noelle nodded and took out her phone and handed it to the boy.

He took of his gloves and placed them on the canvas before placing a single finger on the Blackberry.

He felt a tingling sensation as he drained its power and handed it back to Noelle after saying, "I promise I'll charge it later."

The girl nodded in recognition and Daniel put the gloves back on.

Orc raised a gravely eyebrow, "Ok then. Let's see if that makes a difference."

Orc wasn't playing around as he instantly swung a fist.

However, everything seemed to be going a little slower than before for Daniel. Or was he going quicker?

Daniel wasn't sure but didn't care. He sidestepped the punch and began unloading a barrage of punches on Orc's body.

Daniel then once again realized he had gotten too close and caught up in attacking.

Orc sensed this and again went for the uppercut to Daniel's mid-rift.

Daniel however, with the extra juice from Noelle's phone, anticipated this and leapt high into the air.

The whole room gasped as Daniel leapt high above Orc before unleashing a powerful punch to the only part of Orc that wasn't protected by gravel, his face.

A large crack could be heard as the punch connected.

Orc fell backwards and landed on the canvas, blood leaking from the big mutant's nose.

All of the girls began to cheer at the sight of a pupil beating a teacher, whilst Rafeal stood silent.

A quick look from Jack was enough to silence the cheers. Jack scooped up the huge man like a baby and used his superhuman strength to jump out of the ring. He said, "Stay here, I won't be long."

He ran out of the room quickly. As soon as Daniel had thrown his gloves down and clambered out of the ring, the girls crowded round him.

The girl, Narcissa, nodded, "Very impressive. Not many can take Orc out."

Aydriann grinned, "I know right. All you needed was a little juice from that phone and you took him down in no time!"

Noelle piped up, "Speaking of that Sparky, I think you owe me."

She held up the phone and Daniel pointed at it. A small spark of electricity jumped out the end and into the phone, instantly bringing the Blackberry to life.

The girls gasped at the sight and Lucy said, "Yeah, that jump over Orc's arm was sweet. I'm definitely borrowing that!"

Daniel frowned, "What do you mean?"

Lucy explained, "I have insane photographic memory. Sure I can remember stuff off of paper, but I can also do what I see in real life."

Daniel nodded, "Interesting." before grinning, "Care for a demonstration?"

Lucy smiled, "Always.". She closed her eyes and concentrated, before leaping high into the sky, her legs in an arc (just like Daniel's) before throwing a punch into thin air.

Lucy then landed on her back and flipped herself back onto her feet, just like Daniel had done previously.

Daniel clapped his hands sincerely, "That's one hell of a power."

Lucy blushed and turned away before Narcissa said, "Ignore Rafeal. He's a little sour as when he faced Orc, he ended up in the hospital wing!"

Daniel then said, "Hey, I'm sure it wasn't that simple. I mean, I wouldn't have had a chance if hadn't charged up a bit."

Daniel turned to the boy, "Why don't you show me your power Rafeal?"

The boy paused before saying, "I don't see why not."

Then, looking in his comfort zone, Rafeal closed his eyes. When they opened, they were bright red. He stuck out an arm and a large black scythe appeared in it.

Daniel was stunned, "What is it?"

Rafeal explained, "It's a shadow. I can create things out of shadows: weapons, armor, wings, energy blasts, you name it. But the more I do, the more it takes it out of me."

Aydriann nodded, "When he's fully suited up, it's pretty cool."

Rafeal went on, "As well as manipulating the dark, I can travel through it as well."

Daniel whistled, "Sounds...dark?"

The boy nodded, "It can be. But I think I've got a grasp on it."

Daniel smiled his friendly smile, "I'm sure you can."

Before Daniel could ask Narcissa and Aydriann about their powers, a figure came bursting through the door.

It was Jack. This time he was alone. He said, "Now come on, let's get back to work."

Without a question, Rafeal, Aydriann and Narcissa continued to use the short range weapons, whilst Lucy and Noelle made their way into the ring.

Daniel approached Jack, "Is he okay?"

Jack replied, "Orc? Yeah, he's a big guy. You broke his nose, but the upside is Lana was able to heal it easily enough. He wants to speak with you by the way, after the lesson."

Daniel nodded, "Sure." Jack then said, "Don't worry about Orc; you were just doing what he asked you to."

Daniel nodded, not fully convinced, and Jack said, "Now I think you've done enough hand to hand for today. I think I see you with a bit more of a long range weapon though."

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, I bet when you're really used to your power, you can make short range weapons out of your electricity. But have you ever fired a bow before?"

Daniel nodded, "Yeah, my dad taught my brother and me. We've been doing it ever since."

Jack grinned, "Great! Archery it is then."

Daniel frowned, "What about a gun?"

Jack laughed, "Are you kidding me? Your electricity would ignite the gunpowder...and that's not a good thing!"

Daniel grimaced, knowing he should have thought about this, before following Jack to the long range weapons.

Upon arrival, Jack handed Daniel a simple wooden bow and five arrows.

He pointed out a target, a classic round target, only twenty meters away.

By the time Daniel had finished, all five arrows were safely lodged in the center of the target.

Jack nodded in approvement, "Very good Daniel! How did it feel?"

Daniel smiled, "I like it. Reminds me of some pretty happy memories.".

Jack smiled, "That's good. I've got something in mind for you, but we'll have to wait."

Daniel nodded, "Okay." Then, Daniel began to shoot at the other targets. By the time he had got through all of the arrows, the bell rung.

Jack yelled, "Okay guys, you're good to go."

The students instantly poured out of the gym, except Daniel and Noelle.

Daniel asked, "What's next?"

Noelle replied, "Battle tactics with Taylor and Bug."

Daniel frowned, "What are their powers?"

Noelle explained, "Taylor can teleport, in a matter of speaking. She just sort of 'poofs' and can arrive in a place she's been before."

Daniel then said, "What about Bug?"

Noelle said, "He goes sort of invisible. You can see him sometimes, he just kind of blends in with the background."

Daniel nodded, "Like a chameleon?"

Noelle answered, "Yeah, like a chameleon. Do you want me to take you to see Orc?"

Daniel replied, "Sure. That would be really helpful."

Then the pair walked in silence until they reached the Hospital Wing.

After walking through the door, they approached Orc's bed.

Orc was lying flat out on the bed, fast asleep.

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Hello?"

Daniel replied, "Dahra?"

Then, the source of the voice came into sight, "No, Dahra's out at the moment."

The woman was clearly part Native American. She was wearing a simple white vest, long ripped jeans, with her hair tied back in a bun.

Noelle said, "Oh hey Lana. Mind if we talk to Orc?"

The woman called Lana shrugged, "Sure. Help yourselves."

Whilst Noelle went back over to Orc, Daniel said to the woman, "Uh, thanks for helping me out the other day."

The woman smiled, "Ah yes, I remember you. You've certainly made a name for yourself here, Daniel King. Leader at the service station, despite your problems with the lighting." she winked at this comment and continued; "Now you're knocking out teachers!"

Daniel smiled gingerly, "The service station just sort of happened. And today, I didn't mean to hurt Orc!"

Suddenly, the big mutant shouted, "Who said my name?"

Lana pushed Daniel towards the man's bed before he said, "That would be me Mr. Merriman."

Orc pulled himself up so he was sitting, "I told you to call me Orc, so do it."

Daniel nodded, "Sorry...Orc."

Orc then said, "I wanted to talk to you because I didn't want you to worry about what happened. You were only doing what I told you to do anyway. And the Healer here did a good job with my nose, what do you think Miss Daniels?"

Noelle nodded, "As good as new Orc."

Orc explained, "Anyway, feeling pain like that was refreshing. Reminds me that I'm still human and not just a hunk of stone."

The pair of kids nodded and Orc then said, "Now get out of here and get to your next lesson."

The pair didn't wait and sprinted out after saying goodbye to both Lana and Orc. Daniel also caught a glimpse of Andrew Castle, asleep on another of the hospital beds as they left the Hospital Wing.

Noelle then led Daniel through the academy until they reached their destination.

Their next class took place in what looked like a normal classroom.

After arriving, the pair sat down at adjacent desks, just as the teachers arrived.

Taylor was a pretty Asian woman, dressed in a simple yet smart suit.

Bug was quite small for his age with short messy hair. He was very thin and looked reasonably fragile, despite being a mutant.

The lesson was relatively boring for Daniel, as it consisted mainly of Taylor talking about how you get around a battlefield, with Bug chipping in every so often.

Although it seemed like the lesson had gone on for a long time, the bell had actually rang earlier than Daniel expected.

The group were dismissed by Taylor and Bug and the pupils instantly rushed out of the door.

Noelle then sighed, "Well that was boring!"

Daniel nodded, "Pretty much. Is it lunch now?"

Noelle replied, "Yeah. Let's make our way back to the Dining Hall and we'll decide what to do from then."

Daniel agreed and the pair set off towards the Dining Hall. Upon arrival, Riley and Aleine were already waiting for Noelle.

Daniel instantly said, "Don't worry about me Noelle. You guys enjoy town and we might see you later."

Noelle nodded and the three girls took off. It wasn't long though, before Nathanial and Naomi arrived at the Dining Hall.

Daniel said, "Hey guys!"

Naomi waved, "Hey Daniel."

Nathanial then asked, "What do you want to do for lunch?"

Daniel suggested, "Town?"

Naomi shook her head, "We don't have any money on us. Maybe tomorrow, if we win the challenge tonight, but we should probably just have lunch at the Academy."

The two boys nodded in agreement before entering the Dining Hall. There were a couple of people in there, but it was easy enough for Daniel, Nathanial and Naomi to locate some lunch; sandwiches and crisps.

The group took the food and decided to eat it in the MU common room.

Whilst they ate, they talked mainly about the day's events, including Daniel breaking Orc's nose.

But finally, they moved onto the topic of the challenge.

Daniel asked the others, "So does anyone know what it could be tonight?"

Nathanial shook his head, "I've asked around. It seems like it's going to be a complete surprise."

Naomi then asked, "But how are the participants selected?"

Daniel replied, "I think it's done randomly. Anyway, we could all be in it!"

The others nodded before Nathanial stood up and wondered over to the notice board.

He scanned a prominent piece of paper and announced, "Yep, just like I thought. All three of us are together next."

Naomi grinned, "Well that's good! What have we got?"

Nathanial stated, "Power development."

Daniel pumped his fist, "Sweet! This is exactly what I need after 'Battle Tactics'."

Naomi looked towards a large grandfather clock in the corner of the MU Common Room, "Well you won't have to wait much longer. Lunch's over."

Daniel exclaimed, "That's great news." He put the food in a nearby bin and said, "Lead the way Nathanial."

Nathanial laughed and walked out of the room, closely followed by Daniel and Naomi.

The group made their way through the various corridors and threw courtyard before arriving at a pair of double doors.

Nathanial shrugged, "I'm not quite certain that this is it, but what's the harm in trying?"

Daniel nodded in agreement, but Naomi said, "I definitely think this isn't it!"

However, Nathanial and Daniel burst in, only to find a room which was decorated well, with an obvious colour scheme of blue.

Then, Daniel saw that the room was currently occupied by three girls.

He instantly said, "Oh..." but was interrupted by one of the girls who said, "Oh its Sparky and Hothead!"

One of the other girls frowned, "What are you guys doing here? This is the MC common room, you MU guys shouldn't be here."

Nathanial apologized, "Sorry, we thought this was the classroom for Power Development."

The girl in the middle grinned, "So you two have power development too?"

Daniel added, "And Naomi."

The same girl giggled, "Funny that, as all three of us have it too. Would you like us to take you three?"

Daniel sighed, "Fine. Cheers Noelle."

The girl smiled, "No problem Sparky!"

Then, Noelle Daniels, Aleine Chambers and Riley D'Antonio led Naomi, Nathanial and Daniel to their last lesson of the day.

**Hey guys and gals, I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I'm still really needing some OCs, so please send in them if you haven't already, or feel free to send in another if you have already but feel like it!**

**Also, if any of you guys can guess who will be teaching 'Power Development', I'll give you a shout out in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Six.

"Is this it?" Nathanial exclaimed when the three girls they had been following came to an abrupt halt.

Riley nodded, "Yep, this is Power Development."

The building they had arrived outside looked like a normal gymnasium and the group wasted no time in entering.

There wasn't actually anyone inside the gym when they arrived, so the six teens stepped inside and began to talk amongst themselves.

Then, their conversation was interrupted by a shout of, "HEADS UP!"

All the teens instantly looked to the entrance of the gym.

Standing there was a single man. He was relatively tall and handsome. He also had long brown hair that was a little longer than his neck. He was wearing some simple sweatpants, a t-shirt and some trainers.

In both hands were large piles of tennis balls. Suddenly, the adult man threw the balls into the air. He then flicked his wrist towards the six, spread out students, and the balls flew towards them at an immense speed

Some balls first reached Riley who stood strong. She planted her feet and put her hands together. She simply clapped her hands together once. A sudden rush of sound waves erupted from the clap, which sent the balls flying away from Riley.

The next batch reached Nathanial. Nathanial suddenly burst into flames before raising his arms skyward in a dramatic fashion. This erected a wall of flames in front of Nathanial.

As soon as the balls hit the wall, they burst into flames and hit the floor, now as ashes.

The next set was aimed at Noelle. Daniel grimaced slightly, knowing her power would be of no good now, along with Aleine and Naomi.

However, Noelle bent over and from the back of her skirt, pulled out two ornate, sharp looking daggers.

As the balls reached her, she began to chop at them expertly until she was surrounded by diced tennis ball.

Aleine was next. Daniel had similar concerns about her, but after seeing Noelle, he was sure she could handle herself.

Aleine though did not pull out a weapon like Noelle. Instead, she grinned before standing still and closing her eyes.

Daniel gasped as the balls were getting closer yet Aleine still did nothing.

Then, just as one was about to hit the girl, she began to dodge the projectiles with ease. She ducked and dived at an amazing speed so that all of the balls aimed at her, hit the back wall.

This reminded Daniel of a scene out of the Matrix, but he quickly snapped out of it as he realized the fifth lot of balls was meant for him.

Daniel was then caught in two minds; should he dispose of the balls simply, or attempt to do something a little different and try to impress the man who he assumed was the teacher?

Daniel didn't really have to think...he always tried to impress. After all, this was power development. Daniel moved his hands quickly and began to place lines of fizzing electricity on top of each.

In a frankly amazing time, Daniel had weaved a net of sparking electrical strands. Daniel's enhanced reaction time helped as he caught the balls in the makeshift net easily enough.

Then, the sixth and final batch of balls flew at Naomi. Daniel was fairly sure that Naomi did not have Noelle's weapon skills or Aleine's reaction speed, so he was worried for the polite girl.

Then, Naomi closed her eyes and put one hand forward, like she was telling someone to stop.

She then began to mumble something inaudible under her breath.

Then, much to Daniel's surprise, as the balls reached the girl they just seemed to stop in mid-air. Then, Naomi mumbled something else and the balls suddenly flew back to their source.

The adult grinned after seeing the way the kids had dealt with the tennis balls and forced the balls that Naomi had returned to hit the floor.

He laughed, "Impressive. Maybe some of you kids really are special."

Noelle looked angry and folded her arms after returning her ornate daggers to their hiding place, "What the hell was that? Who are you?"

The man laughed again, "So naive! That was just a little test for you, to see how you reacted under pressure. As for whom I am, I'm Caine Soren...and I'm your teacher."

Riley frowned, "That can't be right. We were told the Sam Temple was our power development."

The man called Caine smirked, "My brother was simply covering for me, but I'm back now."

A voice from behind him roared with laughter, "Well that's nice to know Caine! I'd thought you would have let me know when you returned."

Caine wheeled on the spot, "Oh, Sam. I was going to see you...'Headmaster'...but I didn't want to be late for a new class."

The man who's name was Sam Temple growled, "I told you before brother, do not call me 'Headmaster'. Just because I set up the Academy doesn't mean I'm the Headmaster."

Caine sniggered, "That's just like you Sam, avoiding your responsibilities."

Sam snapped, "I thought we were seeing eye to eye now Caine, so why are you always having a go at me?"

Caine sighed, "Fine Sam, sorry. The mission didn't go too well."

Sam nodded, "We'll talk after. Now if you want to stay and help, you can."

Caine nodded and Sam stood by his side before addressing the bemused students, "Sorry about that guys. I'm Sam and this is my brother Caine. We'll be taking this class together. Now, what are your names?"

Next, each of the pupils took it in turn to introduce themselves, with Noelle going last.

Then, Caine talked to the kids about how they handled the tennis balls.

He seemed genuinely impressed with all of the students, including Daniel.

Then, Caine took Aleine, Noelle and Naomi to one side of the gym whilst Daniel, Riley and Nathanial followed Sam to the other.

Sam was tanned, with brown hair which had blond streaks in it, blue eyes and he could be described as cute.

Sam was actually reluctant to use his power, but instead he coached the others on how to improve their powers.

For the next couple of hours, Riley learnt how to direct the sound waves generated from her claps or stomping and add precision. Nathanial began to learn how to use his power without himself becoming engulfed in flames. Daniel though spent the time making things out of his electricity. He wove nets which could be useful for traps and small knives made of pure electricity.

Sam encouraged them all, giving them tips along the way. He also told Daniel that with time, he would learn how to sculpt larger and more powerful weapons with his power.

By the time a bell had rung to signal the end of the lesson, the whole class was thoroughly exhausted.

Sam clapped his hands together, "All right guys, we're done for today."

Caine finished, "You've got a one hour rest until you must meet in the Entrance Hall for this evening's challenge."

Before Sam and Caine could finally dismiss the students, the Gym door was flung open and Lana strode into the room.

Lana called out, "Sam. He's awake."

Sam nodded, "Thanks Lana." Firstly he turned to his brother, "I'll see you in an hour's time Caine."

Sam then turned to face the pupils, "You guys can leave now."

However Lana said, "Not all of them Sam. He said that he wants to see him."

Lana pointed straight at Daniel, much to his surprise.

Sam sighed, "Ok then. Come on Daniel, just follow us."

However, Nathanial shouted, "No way is Daniel going to see that maniac without Naomi and me. I'll torch him if he tries anything funny!"

Caine laughed, "How nice!"

Sam groaned, "I'm sorry Nathanial, but enough people will be there already."

Daniel nodded, "He's right mate. Thanks for the gesture, but I'll be alright. I'll tell you everything later, okay?"

Nathanial was clearly annoyed, so Naomi replied after placing a consoling hand on the boy's shoulder, "That's fine Daniel. We'll see you later."

With that, all of the pupils and Caine left the Gym through the door from which Lana had just entered. On the way out, Noelle winked, "See you later Sparky."

Now, the room was empty apart from Sam, Lana and Daniel.

Sam then said to Lana, "Find Toto and meet us at the Hospital Wing."

Lana nodded and followed the others out of the room.

Sam then said to Daniel, "Come on, let's not keep our guest waiting."

The two walked in silence, to the Hospital Wing. Upon arrival, Daniel saw quite a few people already there.

In the corner of the room was Dahra, standing silently against the wall examining what looked like a medical chart.

Then, standing around Andrew Castle's bed were Jack and Brianna who were in slight conversation with one another.

They fell silent when Daniel and Sam arrived.

Sam and Daniel instantly walked over to the bed and Sam said, "Hey Brianna, Jack."

The other two adults said in unison, "Hey Sam."

Sam then turned his attention to the boy in the hospital bed.

Andrew said weakly, "You must be Sam Temple."

Sam nodded, "That's right."

Brianna then said, "He's already apologized for everything that went down at the service station."

Andrew then said, "It's true. I was scared and alone. I just thought you were coming to take me away so I thought I had to defend myself."

Jack nodded, "That's all understandable, but if he's going to stay here, he's going to need to control his temper."

Then, Lana entered the hospital wing, followed by another man.

Daniel figured that this must be the man who Sam had called Toto back in the Gym.

Andrew said, "I promise I'll try and control my temper. I just want to know I'm safe."

Then Daniel saw Sam look over his shoulder towards Toto.

Toto nodded almost instantly after Sam looked at him. Sam's gaze then returned to the boy in the bed.

He then sighed, "Okay, I believe you. You should be alright to leave the Hospital Wing now, if it's alright with Daniel, he can show you to your room."

The whole room looked towards Daniel. Finally, Daniel shrugged, "That's fine."

Sam nodded, "Okay then. Take him to MU; he'll have the room next to yours. Andrew, get a shower and get changed. Report down in an hour and after the night's challenge, you can eat. You will be expected to report for lessons tomorrow."

Andrew grinned, "Understood sir." He then climbed out of the hospital bed and followed Daniel out of the room, leaving the adults to talk amongst themselves.

Whilst they walked, Daniel mentioned about what he knew of Academy life and the Academy itself.

When the pair finally arrived at the MU common room, Andrew sighed, "I'm sorry for hitting you at that service station."

Daniel looked deep into the boy's eyes and knew he was telling the truth. "Okay," Daniel said, "I believe you. I'm sorry for knocking you out."

Andrew grinned, "No apology needed. That was the best sleep I've had in ages."

Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the comment. Daniel then led Andrew to the dormitories before showing him to his room.

After saying goodbye, Daniel wandered into his room and locked the door behind him.

Daniel sighed. It had been a long day. Daniel then decided to climb into the shower. With the water pouring fast down his face, he reflected on everything that had happened and began to wonder what that night's challenge had in store.

**Hey guys and girls! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I've been on holiday.**

**But now I'm back, and to make up for it, I will upload very shortly with not just this chapter, but two more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to review or send in more OCs!**

**PS. Well done to DeeDiamonte and for correctly guessing that Sam and Caine taught Power Development!**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Seven.

After Daniel had thoroughly washed himself in the shower, he got out and dried himself off with a plain towel which had been hanging from a nearby rail.

Then came a sudden knock on Daniel's door. Daniel frowned, wondering who it could be.

As Daniel went to at least put some underwear on, the door was knocked on for a second time.

Daniel sighed, and with just a towel wrapped round him, opened the door.

Standing in the doorway was a girl, of about Daniel's age. She had olive skin and long, curly, jet black hair. In her hair was a simple red ribbon, almost marking her allegiance to MU, with a gold dove pin, keeping it in place.

She had dark brown like eyes and her figure seemed quite lean. She was wearing a reasonably low cut top, with ripped denim shorts. She was also sporting trainers and trainer socks.

The girl grinned before saying in an American accent, "Nice body! You really must keep in shape, huh?"

Daniel looked down and realized that he was fairly exposed. Daniel chuckled nervously, "Yeah, you just caught me as I was getting out the shower. What do you want?"

The girl laughed, "Get some clothes on, then we'll talk."

Daniel nodded and turned around. He headed over to the wardrobe and pulled out a blue vest, jeans, a red hoodie and white trainers and socks.

Just as Daniel began to change, he was frightened by the sound of the door slamming shut.

Whilst grappling with the jeans, he managed to turn and see that the girl had entered the room and closed the door behind her. She then began to look through the room.

Daniel turned his attention back to getting changed and muttered under his breath, sarcastically, "Why don't you come on in? Have a look round?"

The girl paused, "What was that?"

Daniel cursed, "Nothing, nothing, just talking to myself!" Daniel then thought to himself, "Damn me and my big mouth, it'll get me in trouble one day, I'm sure of it!"

By the time Daniel was fully changed, the girl had stopped looking and was now sat on the end of his bed.

Daniel sighed, "Now will you tell me who you are and what you want?"

The girl nodded, "Fine. I'm Suzana Gale, a fellow MU student. I heard about you from Noelle, Aleine and Riley earlier and thought I'd pay you a visit."

Daniel frowned, "How come I haven't seen you before?"

Suzana explained, "I either spend a lot of time in town, or on missions when I'm not in lessons."

Daniel raised his eyebrow, "Missions?"

Suzana grinned, "You'll know when your ready."

Daniel made a mental note of this and then asked, "What's your power then Suzana?"

Suzana sighed, "It's complicated. I've pretty much mastered it now, despite having some major problems before. You'll find out tonight, at the challenge."

Daniel studied the girl's face and said, "What do you really want?"

Suzana then said, "I want to know if you're committed to the challenge, tonight. MC have won too many and this has got to stop. On top of that, my money's growing thin, and a cash injection would do nicely."

Daniel nodded, "I'm happy to help tonight. MU's got some new additions, and I know we can beat the others."

Suzana stood up, "That's the spirit! Come on then, it's nearly time for the challenge! We need to get to the dining hall."

Daniel nodded, "I'll meet you down there."

With a nod, Suzana strode from the room and the door slammed behind her.

Daniel sighed, "Do people in this place even respect privacy?"

He then left the room himself, and knocked on the door next to his.

There was no answer at first, so Daniel shouted, "Andrew! Come on, we can't be late!"

Daniel then heard a scurrying and sure enough, the door flung open.

Andrew was stood in a fresh pair of clothes, more or less simple exercise gear.

Daniel asked, "What took you so long?"

Andrew shrugged, "I was just having a nap."

Daniel groaned, "Despite the fact you've been asleep in a sort of coma for the majority of the time since the service station?"

Daniel shook his head in disbelief, before the two boys took off in the direction of the Dining Hall.

Everyone seemed to be there when they arrived, and the hall seemed fuller than that morning had been.

No one was sitting, so Daniel and Andrew joined the back of the crowd that had formed at one side of the room.

Daniel then saw who everyone was looking at. On a wooden stage were Sam, Caine, Brianna, Jack, Orc, Taylor, Bug, Toto, Diana, Astrid, and a few other adults who he had never seen before. Yet, there was no sign of Lana or Dahra, who Daniel reckoned must still be in the Hospital Wing.

There was general talking in the crowd of students, before Sam silenced the crowd by firing a beam of green light skyward, but stopping it from hitting the ceiling.

When the room was silent, Sam said in a loud voice, "I think we've waited enough, so let us begin. Tonight is another challenge, with MU attempting to restore their pride and their bank balances, whilst MC hopes to continue their literally and metaphorically rich vein of form."

A large cheer could be heard from the MC students whilst a similarly large jeer could be heard from the MU students.

Sam continued, "However, tonight, things are a little different."

An air of excitement rippled through the crowd momentarily.

Sam then said, "Usually, the participants are selected randomly from Jack's computer database. However tonight, one team leader will be picked for each house. That person will then be responsible for choosing four other people, ending up with two teams of five."

The crowd began to buzz with excitement before Sam announced, "The challenge will be announced after the teams are picked. Now, the MC team leader for this challenge will be Riley D'Antonio!"

The MC students began to applaud as Riley made her way through the crowd and onto the wooden stage.

Sam continued, "And the MU team leader will be Suzana Gale!"

It was now time for the MU students to applaud, so Daniel and Andrew just clapped in order to fit in.

Sam then said, "First choice will go to the reigning champions, MC, then MU will pick. Riley, you may begin."

Riley instantly declared, "I'll have Narcissa Hendrix."

Narcissa stepped through the crowd and onto the platform, next to Riley.

Daniel remembered that she was particularly talented with a pair of daggers, and he was sure she would be a dangerous opponent.

Suzana however wasted no time in declaring, "Then I'll pick Rafeal Recinos."

The boy that Daniel had seen in Combat Training strode forward and took his place beside Suzana.

Daniel knew that he was very powerful mutant, and he would make for a powerful team mate.

Riley then spoke, "Lucy Winters."

Daniel remembered the girl as she got up onto the stage. Daniel especially remembered her fondness for a certain katana which was certain of causing some damage.

Suzana then said, "Max Everdeen."

The boy joined Suzana and Rafeal on the stage. Daniel recognized him as his savior from the service station. Max had the amazing ability to transform into any animal he desired, a real asset.

Riley then said, "Karilyn Fraser."

The girl called Karilyn strode onto the stage. Daniel had never seen her before, but knew there must be a reason Riley had selected her.

Suzana then said, "Daniel King."

Daniel gulped and stood still momentarily.

The whole crowd turned to watch him. With a friendly nod from Andrew, Daniel threw his shoulders back and made his way all the way through the crowd to join the others on the stage.

Suzana whispered, "Nice of you to join us."

Daniel shrugged, "I was a little late, but I'm here, aren't I?"

Suzana couldn't argue with that logic and Riley then spoke, "Ebony."

The crowd gasped as a small child, who must have been around six at most, made her way up onto the stage and she stood next to Riley.

Daniel was slightly perplexed by this choice. He instantly wondered about Noelle and Aleine and whispered to Rafeal, "Powerful?"

Rafeal nodded, "Very."

Nathanial then said, "How come she hasn't got a last name?"

Suzana replied, "They found her when she was too young to remember it, so ever since she's just been known as Ebony."

Daniel knew he needn't ask more, as he would see her in action later.

Suzana cleared her throat and announced her final team member, "Nathanial Orion."

Daniel grinned as he saw his friend make his way through the crowd before standing beside Daniel.

Sam clapped, "That's in then. The teams are Riley, Narcissa, Lucy, Karilyn and Ebony and Suzana, Rafeal, Max, Daniel and Nathanial. The challenge will be a simple game of Capture the Flag."

"One team will start at one side of the grounds; the other team will start at the other side. The flag will be located somewhere in the middle. All you have to do is obtain it and bring it back to your starting point."

"The challenge will begin immediately and remember, as always, anything goes. Lana and Dahra will be on hand to see to any injuries. My power will signal the beginning and end of the challenge. Understood?"

All ten students nodded and Sam smiled. "Good."

Suddenly, the rest of the students, scrambled out of the hall.

Nathanial asked, "Where are they going?"

Max explained, "If you're not participating, you tend to watch from the roof. From there, you can get a great view of the entire grounds. They'll be trying to get the best view possible."

Daniel then said, "Nathanial and I haven't been in the grounds yet. What's it like?"

Suzana said, "Two big fields on either side of a forest, in short. We'll start in the fields and the flag will be somewhere in the forest. But, both fields are on raised ground so you can get a good view of the forest."

Daniel nodded, "Okay, sounds good."

Now that the dining hall was only occupied by the adults and ten students, Sam said, "You have a little time to fetch your weapons, but then we must start! MU, you can have the North Field. MC, you will start in the South Field."

All of the students except Daniel and Nathanial nodded in agreement.

Then, most of the adults made their way to the exit of the Dining Hall along with all the MC students.

Daniel turned to Nathanial, "Weapons? What weapons?"

Nathanial shrugged, "I have no clue, don't ask me!"

Suzana sighed, "Are you really that clueless? We all have our own weapons!"

Daniel shook his head, "We don't have anything of the sort! I've only had one day of lessons!"

Then, the last adult in the room, Jack, moved towards the MU students. He placed a hand on Daniel and Nathanial's shoulders, "Come with me guys, I've got something to show you."

The pair looked at Suzana, Max and Rafeal, who all shrugged their shoulders. Suzana then said, "We'll see you out there, then."

Daniel and Nathanial nodded and were led by Jack from the Dining Hall.

Jack was silent as he took them through the school, before finally stopping at a room.

He pulled a key out of his trouser pocket and unlocked the door before gesturing for the pair to enter.

They did so and Jack followed them before closing the door.

The room was a complete mess, full of computers, papers, and tools.

Daniel asked, "What is this room?"

Jack sighed, "You could say it's my office."

The boy nodded and Nathanial asked, "So what do you want to show us Jack?"

Jack grinned, "Oh yes. You see, I've been working on weapons for mutants that compliment their powers. I mean, there are people like Noelle who is skilled with her twin daggers, and Lucy who can watch a samurai film and pick up the moves they use with her katana, but no one really has a weapon yet that advances their powers!"

Nathanial frowned, "And you think you've got something for us?"

Jack laughed, "Oh yes! I've been working hard since I saw you in Combat Training this morning. I have developed some prototypes I want you to use in the challenge. If they work well, I will ask for funding from Sam and the others so I can create power enhancement weapons for any who participate in missions."

Daniel grinned, "Sounds great Jack. Where are they?"

Jack turned around and picked up a coil of chains from a work surface.

They were decorated with an intricate flame like design.

He handed them to Nathanial who said, "Sweet, what can they do?"

Jack explained, "These chains are quite compact at the moment, but with the right amount of force, can unfurl to several meters in length and are easy to shorten again. They are also very strong and durable. The most important feature though, is they can be set alight, and the material will never melt. A perfect weapon for you Nathanial!"

Nathanial grinned, "They're great thanks Jack, I'm sure they'll serve me well tonight."

Nathanial then tied the coil of ornate chains around his waist, like a belt.

Jack then turned back to the desk before holding out a jet black, sleek looking bow to Daniel. It had a yellow lightning bolt running down one side and the string which was tied from one end to the other was the same shade of yellow.

Daniel took it and gasped, "Wow, it's really something Jack."

Jack nodded, "Yep, that's one hell of a nice bow. But the really interesting part is the arrows."

He then handed over a black quiver, also decorated with a yellow lightning bolt. In it were thirty arrows. Yet Daniel noticed that the ends of ten of the arrows were yellow, ten of them were blue, and ten were red.

Daniel asked, "What is the difference between them Jack?"

Jack smiled, "I'm glad you asked! All of the arrows can be charged by your electricity Daniel, therefore utilizing your power. But, the yellow arrows can be charged enough to deliver a hearty shock, but not too much damage, perhaps just enough to momentarily paralyze them."

Daniel pumped his fist, "Sweet! What about the others?"

Jack explained, "Well, the blue will have enough juice to knock someone out, a handy tool if you need to capture someone. Finally, the red arrows can be loaded with most electricity. When full, they will explode on impact."

Daniel raised his eyebrows, "Seriously?"

Jack nodded, "Yes. The red arrows really pack a punch."

Daniel put the arrows he had been looking at, back in the quiver and slung both the bow and quiver, sensibly over his shoulder.

Jack grinned at his handiwork, "You both look suited to fight now! MC won't stand a chance now."

Nathanial nodded, "You've got that right Jack. But, I've been wondering about Daniel's arrows. Won't the electricity become irrelevant if the arrow pierces the head of the target?"

Jack laughed, "You might think so, but the arrows aren't really sharp. The material is very aerodynamic and works well as an arrow, but it sticks to the target instead of piercing their skin, therefore letting Daniel's power to do its job. Without electricity, it will harmlessly stick to the target."

Daniel asked, "So do I charge them now?"

Jack shook his head, "No need. They'll naturally fill up when you slot them on the string and draw it back."

Daniel grinned at the adult mutant, "Wow Jack. We really can't thank you enough."

Jack shrugged, "It's no problem. I enjoy challenging myself anyway. I love thinking about this stuff, but it's a shame there isn't someone else to make it for me!"

With that, the pair of students took their leave. Now, armed with their own, customized weapon, they headed in the direction of the grounds in order to participate in the night's challenge. Capture the Flag. Daniel had a feeling it wasn't as simple as it sounded.

**Hey guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Still feel free to review and submit your OCs please. Also now, with the addition of Jack's weapons which use a mutant's power, please submit via PM or review, any ideas you have for custom weapons for your OCs! (If you are yet to send in an OC and you want to, just add on the end of the OC form, anything about a custom weapon for your OC)**

**Hope this is alright, and if you have any questions or queries, feel free to PM me as I am always happy to help!**


	9. Chapter 9

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Eight.

When Daniel and Nathanial arrived at the North Field, Max, Rafeal and Suzana were already waiting there.

"Nice of you to show up!" Suzana remarked.

Daniel shot her a stare, "Hey, watch it. We're here aren't we?"

Max stepped between the two, "Come on guys, we're a team. We won't stand a chance if we fight."

The two teens paused before nodding in agreement.

Rafeal asked, "I'm guessing that bow and chain is what Jack wanted you for?"

Nathanial grinned, "Yep! Our own weapons."

Max then said, "I'm sure we'll see them in the challenge, but what about tactics. Suzana, you're the team leader...so lead."

Suzana nodded, "Okay. If you're using a bow Daniel, you better stay here as you've got a good vantage point. If things get a bit messy, I'll send Max to come and get you. Then you can get up close and personal."

Daniel nodded, content with his role in the team so far.

Suzana continued, "Max, I need you to locate the flag. Circle above it when you've found it. Then and only then, you can start to find."

Max also nodded in recognition.

Suzana then said, "Now Rafeal and Nathanial, you two are going to be the front line soldiers. I need you to stop them from getting the flag, and let me get it instead. You need to keep Riley, Lucy, Narcissa and Karilyn busy. I need to get close to Ebony. If I can  
>possess her, we won't need to worry about a thing."<p>

Then, after seeing Daniel and Nathanial's clearly shocked faces, Suzana explained, "Oh yeah, my power is that I can go what I call 'Ghost'. It allows me to possess people, now that I've mastered it."

Daniel and Nathanial felt relieved after hearing an explanation from Suzana and relaxed

Suzana clapped her hands together, "Okay, every happy?"

The whole group roared in agreement. Suzana grinned, "Excellent. Rafeal, you can suit up now."

Rafeal took a step away from the group and smiled, "I was waiting for you to say that."

Rafeal closed his eyes briefly. When they reopened, they were bright red. Shadows from various objects began to move towards the boy.

They were then suddenly absorbed and disappeared from sight. Rafeal then roared as the shadows reappeared in the form of ornate black 'shadow' armor, protecting his entire body.

After the last piece of 'shadow' armor had appeared, Rafeal's helmet, Rafeal thrust out his now armored arm. The shadows began to swirl in his hand until a scythe appeared in the air.

Rafeal grasped it and swirled it quickly once, before resting it on the ground.

Daniel was in complete shock at the sight of the fully suited and armed, Rafeal. His power really was as impressive as first described by the others. This sight proved to Daniel that Rafeal really was a powerful ally.

Rafeal grinned, "Impressed?"

Daniel and Nathanial nodded before speaking in unison, "Definitely."

Then, as clear as anything, a green light erupted from the roof of the academy which lit up the darkening sky.

Daniel laughed, "Let the games begin!"

He grasped the bow and in one fluid motion, took it off his back and readied it.

Beside him, Nathanial placed one hand on his belt of chains. He tugged once, and the entire chain unfurled. The fiery pattern could be seen glistening in the dark.

Nathanial clicked his fingers, causing a small flame to appear at his fingertips. He moved it closer to the chain before simply touching the two together.

Instantly, the chain burst into glorious flames. Nathanial twirled the fiery chain above his head skillfully and roared, "Let's do this!"

As if to try and compete with Rafeal, Nathanial suddenly burst into flames himself, and soon he was completely cloaked by raging fire.

He then tilted his head in Rafeal and through the flames, the boy could be seen grinning, "Impressed?"

Rafeal laughed heartily, "Definitely."

Max then silently began to change. His human form flickered and the boy gradually began to take the form of a mighty eagle.

Suzana shouted, "Get going Max, we're right behind you!"

Max squawked in recognition and flapped his powerful wings. He took to the skies and quickly made his way toward the forest.

Suzana then closed her own eyes. She suddenly began to fade until nothing was left but a wisp of smoke. The wisp quickly took off in the same direction as Max.

Rafeal and Nathanial nodded at each and also took off towards the forest.

Daniel sighed, as he was now alone. However, he knew he would have his chance, sooner or later. Daniel picked an arrow from his quiver, decorated with blue, and placed it on the string, leaning the shaft on the bow.

Daniel pulled the bow back and waited, waited for his opportunity to fire. As he did so, Daniel felt electricity flow from his body, and into the blue arrow. Daniel then had proof as to Jack being a real genius. The arrow was ready and waiting for its first target.

**********

Despite being a wisp of smoke, Suzana could still see...somehow.

She wasn't sure how her mutant power worked, but she wasn't bothered. Suzana was the team leader and she knew that if she was ever going to be selected for a proper mission by Sam and the others, she had to show she could deliver.

As Suzana entered the forest, she still hadn't seen a single MC student. This worried her slightly, but she decided to ignore it.

She could hear footsteps behind her, so she knew that Rafeal and Nathanial weren't that far behind.

She could also see Max's eagle form diving at incredibly fast speeds, in and out of the forest, moving between trees.

From this, Suzana knew that he hadn't found the flag yet. Suzana knew that he would eventually, so decided to concentrate in finding the young mutant called Ebony.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Suzana saw a figure running away from her.

Suzana instantly followed the figure, who kept running for the next 100 meters.

Suddenly though, the figure stopped running and stood as still as a statue.

Suzana, confused, waited for the figure to make the next move.

The figure slowly turned on the spot and much to Suzana's surprise, the figure was Daniel.

Suzana returned to her human form and shouted, "Daniel! What are you doing here? Why aren't you back in the North Field?"

Daniel however was silent. This angered Suzana who was overcome by raged, so she strode over to Daniel and slapped him hard, across the cheek.

However, Daniel still didn't move a muscle.

Suzana was perplexed. What was going on? Then, the girl remembered.

"Karilyn." the girl thought to herself, "She can create illusions. This can't be a trap, can it?"

Suzana wheeled round, and then saw two girls perched from a high branch.

One of those girls was Karilyn, the other was Riley. The girls laughed and waved sarcastically at Suzana.

Then, Riley stood up from her crouched position on the branch and jumped.

As she traveled through the air, Suzana realized what she was going to do.

Suzana only had time to start saying, "Oh sh..."

Before she could finish, Riley hit the ground and instantly, a barrage of sound waves hit the cursing girl, sending her off her feet and flying into a nearby tree, now unconscious.

*********

Unlike Rafeal and Nathanial, Max had seen what had happened to Suzana.

Max was then stuck in two minds: should he help Suzana or continue looking for the flag?

The flag, Max had decided. Max would continue to look for the flag before helping his fallen team leader.

*********

By the time Rafeal and Nathanial reached the forest, Suzana was unconscious, but they were none the wiser.

Instead, they carried on into the forest until they came across Lucy and Narcissa.

Nathanial bowed sarcastically, "Ladies! What do we owe the pleasure?"

Narcissa shot him a stare, "Oh shut up Nathanial. I'm in no mood for conversation."

The girl pulled out three small knives and threw one toward the flaming boy.

Nathanial didn't see bothered by the incoming piece of very sharp metal.

The boy stuck out a flaming hand which melted the normal metal instantly.

Narcissa looked worried but threw the remaining two at Rafeal.

Rafeal placed his arm in the way and the two throwing knives embedded in the shadow armor he was wearing on his arm. Rafeal plucked the two knives from his armor and dropped them on the floor.

Lucy though was fed up and unsheathed her katana from a waist holder.

Rafeal asked seriously, "Watched any samurai films lately Lucy?"

Lucy grinned, "Maybe."

Rafeal took no chances and jumped at the girl, scythe raised.

Lucy however blocked the strike with ease and began to unload her own strikes on the shadow covered boy.

As the two were sparring, Nathanial turned to face Narcissa.

The boy grinned, "Ladies first, Miss Hendrix!"

Narcissa snarled at the boy's cheek and produced two longer daggers. She thrust them in Nathanial's direction, but the weapons never reached their target.

With a flick of his wrist, Nathanial's chain coiled around Narcissa's hands, binding them together.

The girl yelped as she felt the chains burning away at her wrists.

Nathanial pulled the girl close and whispered, "You know, you really are quite hot when you're angry."

Narcissa snarled in anger and suddenly, Nathanial felt a great pain in his head.

The boy tried to keep his hold on the girl but was clearly struggling. "Narcissa's power...it really does hurt!" the boy thought to himself as his grip slackened due to the severe headache he was currently experiencing.

**********

Max was getting desperate. He could see that both Rafeal and Nathanial were locked in combat, Suzana had been knocked out thanks to Riley and Karilyn, and Daniel was waiting back in the North Field.

Max was now seriously considering getting into the action, but that trail of thought was rudely interrupted by something he had just seen out of the corner of his eye.

Lodged, high in a large oak tree, was a red and blue striped flag.

Max squawked with excitement and thought to himself, "Brilliant! Got to let the others know!"

So, as he had been instructed, Max began to circle over the tree that was commonly known as the Major Oak by the academy students.

**********

Both Rafeal and Nathanial had been fighting hard, but neither had made a breakthrough.

This however, did not matter. The two boys saw, high in the sky, eagle Max was now circling Major Oak.

Rafeal called out quickly, after managing to knock Lucy off her feet, "Quick Nathanial, Max has found it. It shouldn't be far."

Nathanial nodded, and quickly unfurled Narcissa from his burning chain which had been wrapped around the girl's waist.

Spinning Narcissa had disorientated her, giving Nathanial the chance to run off with Rafeal, in the direction of Max, Major Oak, and presumably the flag.

**********

Karilyn had just finished checking Suzana's pulse when Riley caught sight of Max.

Karilyn sighed, "She's fine. She's just unconscious."

Riley grinned, "Perfect. And, what did I tell you? MU have found the flag for us. Let's go Karilyn."

Then, the two girls took off like the others, towards the flag, leaving Suzana.

But, as soon as the girls had ran out of sight, Ebony wandered out from her hiding place, behind a tree.

The young girl slowly wandered over to Suzana before shaking her, "Hey, are you okay?"

This movement was what Suzana needed. She instantly woke up, which frightened the little girl.

After properly coming to, Suzana apologized, "I'm so sorry for scaring you Ebony."

The girl grinned a childish smile, "That's okay. Are you okay though?"

Suzana nodded whilst getting up, "Yeah, my head hurts a little, but I'll live."

Then, suddenly, everything came back to Suzana, "The flag! Ebony, we aren't on the same team, why did you help me?"

The young girl giggled, "It was nothing! I just didn't want to see anyone hurt!"

Suzana smiled at the innocent girl, "You aren't bothered much, are you Ebony?"

Ebony shook her head firmly.

Suzana smiled once more, "If that's the case sweetie, do you mind if I use your power for a minute or two. If I do that, it'll be over soon!"

Ebony paused to think for a minute, but quickly replied, "Okay then Zana."

Suzana then whispered, "Hold still sweetie, this won't hurt a bit."

Still though, Ebony braced herself as Suzana transformed into nothing more than a wisp of white smoke.

Quickly and painlessly, the smoke went straight through Ebony's chest until it disappeared completely.

Ebony felt a strange sensation, for a moment, and then the young girl felt nothing at all.

This is when Suzana took control of the young girl's body and grinned. She then caught sight of Max, circling above the Major Oak and decided to walk in that direction slowly, making sure that no one would see her until the last moment.

**********

From North Field, Daniel was unable to see the forest floor. Instead, he was able to see the top halves of the trees, and the sky.

With his arrow loaded and ready, Daniel had been watching Max in order to see the location of the flag.

Sure enough, Daniel finally saw that Max had stopped searching, and was now circling.

Daniel exclaimed, "He's found it!"

Daniel then looked at the tree he was circling over. Protruding from a hole near the top of the tree, Daniel could just make out a red and blue flag.

Daniel knew that soon, he should see people around that flag, and he could let loose the arrow.

**********

When Rafeal and Nathanial had reached the Major Oak, Lucy and Narcissa were close behind them.

Nathanial gestured to the flag, "Get it Rafeal. I'll hold them off."

Rafeal was in no mood for arguing and began to climb up the tree. He was too tired to construct a pair of shadow wings after his fight with Lucy.

When Nathanial turned around, both Narcissa and Lucy were staring straight at him.

Narcissa snarled, "Get out of our way Nathanial."

Nathanial laughed at the girl's threat and swung his chain playfully, "Not a chance."

Narcissa turned to her friend, "Get the flag. I'll deal with the hothead."

Nathanial laughed, "Will you now? Try me."

Before Nathanial could swing his chain, an immense pain could be felt in his head.

Lucy took the chance and ran past the helpless boy.

Nathanial dropped to his knees in agony, dropped the chain and put his hands to his hurting head.

Lucy then leapt high into the air and grabbed onto the tree. She then began to catch up with Rafeal, despite his head start, thanks to her extreme climbing skills.

Rafeal saw the girl closing in and cursed, "She must have seen some tree climber documentary or something, but she's loads better than me."

However, Rafeal was nearing the flag and wasn't the type to give up, so carried on regardless.

**********

Suddenly, Daniel saw a figure appear near the top of the tree.

Daniel should have been happy, but was quietly annoyed when he saw Rafeal, coated in shadows, approaching the flag.

Daniel's grip on the string loosened, "Guess that I won't be needed after all." Daniel thought to himself.

But then, now in sight, was Lucy Winters. The MC girl was climbing the large tree at a phenomenal pace.

Daniel was certain that if he didn't intervene, Lucy may reach the flag before Rafeal, and he could not allow that.

So, Daniel refocused and pulled the arrow back hard. With a normal arrow, the precision and accuracy needed to make this shot would be extraordinary.

But this was no normal arrow, and Daniel was no normal archer. Daniel took aim at just above the moving girl and loosed the arrow with a loud twang.

Daniel could see the electricity that filled the arrow as it traveled through the air.

Daniel watched with baited breath as the arrow pierced the air perfectly before reaching the forest.

Sure enough, the arrow was accurate and precise enough.

It hit the girl square in the leg, and Daniel knew that he would now have to wait, knowing he had done what Suzana had asked of him.

**********

Rafeal heard a girlish cry, just as he was about to reach the flag.

This cry drew his attention, and the boy glanced downwards.

From somewhere in the distance, an arrow had been fired and was now stuck to Lucy's leg.

Rafeal was confused slightly though, as the arrow seemed to have stuck to the girl instead of piercing her skin.

The girl also seemed confused, momentarily. But then, the girl began to shake tremendously before falling quiet.

Lucy had now let go of the Major Oak and was plummeting towards the hard forest floor, whilst unconscious.

Rafeal thought to himself, "Brilliant! Daniel's arrows are filled with his electricity. Well, enough to knock Lucy out. Jack really is a genius."

But, before Rafeal could reach for the flag, his attention was drawn once more by the sound of two more people arriving at the foot of the Major Oak.

Rafeal could see that they were Karilyn and the MC team leader, Riley.

Instantly, after seeing their team mate Lucy falling through the air at a dangerous speed, Riley cried, "Karilyn, break Lucy's fall!"

Karilyn didn't respond, but instead, stood still, closed her eyes and held her eyes out.

However, nothing seemed to happen at first, and Lucy was getting dangerously close to the ground.

Riley screamed, "Karilyn, nothing's happening!"

Karilyn muttered, "I know, I know. Let me concentrate Riley."

Karilyn continued to focus and finally thrust her arms out in desperation.

After doing this, a crash mat like one that movie's would use during a stunt, appeared underneath the falling girl and cushioned her fall.

After hitting the mat, Lucy lay still. Then, the mat disappeared and Lucy fell a short distance before lying on the forest floor, unharmed.

Although happy that Lucy was unharmed and that Karilyn had done such a good job in saving her, Riley was very angry.

Then, ignoring Lucy, Karilyn, and the fighting pair of Narcissa and Nathanial, Riley looked up and saw him nearly at the flag.

The girl snarled, "MC aren't losing on my watch." She planted her feet firmly on the ground and took aim.

Rafeal saw this and began to swore, "Oh cr..."

Riley clapped her hands together, forcing powerful sound waves in Rafeal's direction.

Rafeal was sent flying through the air as his fingers almost grasped the flag, but it just slipped through his fingers.

**********

Max Everdeen had been watching everything that had been happening in the forest below him. Despite wanting to help Lucy, he knew it was none of his business as they were on different teams.

However, when Max saw Riley plant her feet firmly on the ground, he knew what he must do.

As soon as Rafeal was sent flying from the tree, Max swooped down from the sky at an astonishing speed.

Max was able to catch the falling boy in his talons, before placing him safely on the forest floor.

Seeing this Riley was clearly annoyed that she had been denied hurting a member of MU.

Max, now resting on the forest floor, began to change again.

His shape changed rapidly, which made the eagle disappear. In its place stood a huge lion.

Max roared proudly at his transformation before surveying the scene once more.

Riley and Karilyn were clearly frightened by Max's new form as they had both taken a step backwards. Lucy of course was still unconscious on the forest floor, so she was not going to be a problem.

But then, Max realized that Nathanial was still kneeling on the forest floor, being put through mental pain by Narcissa.

Max leapt forward and swung a powerful claw in the direction of the girl, not intended to hit but just distract the girl.

Max's plan worked brilliantly, as the girl jumped backwards out of fear.

This broke Narcissa's concentration for long enough so that Nathanial could grab his ornate chain and scramble to his feet.

The flaming boy ran to the side of the mighty lion and Rafeal.

Max, now having a much better sense of smell as he was in the form of a lion, began to pick up the scent of another person who had arrived near the Major Oak.

This became apparent to the others soon enough as the young girl Ebony, wandered into sight.

Riley sighed, "Ebony, I was starting to worry about you. I thought you'd gotten lost or something. You reckon you can help us out sweetie?"

The young girl paused for a second before nodding. She walked forward to Narcissa, Karilyn and Riley's sides before facing Max, Rafeal and Nathanial and closing her eyes.

All three MU boys braced themselves for the incoming attack, but were surprised to see that slowly, Ebony reopened her eyes.

The young girl then looked directly at them before winking.

The boys instantly knew what was going on, as Ebony pushed her hand in the direction of the three MC girls.

Narcissa, Karilyn and Riley were all sent flying off of their feet and onto their backs on the forest floor.

Nathanial murmured, "Wow, Ebony is a telekinetic like Caine."

Riley gasped after hitting the floor and shouted, "Ebony dear, what are you doing?"

Ebony simply turned to face the three girls and grinned.

Karilyn swore, "It's Suzana. Ebony's been possessed."

Riley and Narcissa both cursed after having the circumstances explained to them by their fellow MC girl.

The possessed Ebony then lifted her hand up in the direction of the flag.

Her hand then closed into a tiny fist, indicating her invisible grasp on the flag.

Ebony then pulled the flag out of the Major Oak in one smooth backwards movement.

Then, all six spectators watched as the flag floated down to just about over her head.

Ebony sighed, "Let's hope Daniel hasn't fallen asleep on the job."

The possessed Ebony then flung her entire arm forward. An invisible force then sent the flag flying in the direction of the North Field, and there was nothing any of the MC students could do about it.

After throwing the flag, Ebony fell to her knees out of exhaustion.

Then, a white wisp of smoke emerged from the young girl's chest.

From it, Suzana appeared, beside the exhausted Ebony. Suzana sighed. She had done all she could.

**********

Daniel knew that his arrow had hit, that much he was certain of. However, he wasn't quite sure what had happened afterwards.

After all, the forest floor was impossible to see from where he was standing.

But then, Daniel saw something headed his way. Daniel squinted and saw that it was the flag.

Daniel grinned and waited. Just as it was just over his head, Daniel leapt and caught it.

However, Daniel had misjudged the speed of the flag and fell flat on his back, with the flag grasped tightly in his hand.

Daniel grumbled angrily, "Stupid flag."

Despite the mishap, Daniel stood up and brushed the dirt from the floor off of his clothes.

Daniel then yelled triumphantly before planting the flag firmly in the ground.

Almost instantly, a bolt of green light lit up the night's sky.

Daniel watched the light and smiled, proud of MU for finally dethroning MC as the dominant house.

**********

Back in the forest, after seeing Sam's light, Suzana, Rafeal, Nathanial and Max knew that they had won.

The group began to celebrate together, all four laughing and cheering.

However, Riley, Narcissa, Karilyn and Ebony stood silent, upset at the fact that MC had finally lost their winning streak.

Meanwhile, Lucy continued to lay unconscious on the forest floor.

Both the jubilation and sadness of the students in the forest was interrupted by the arrival of another person.

Taylor had just 'poofed' beside the students before telling them to be quiet.

Taylor then said, "Well done guys, that was a really entertaining challenge! Sam wants you guys to head straight over to the Dining Hall for food. Max, he wants you to take Lucy over to the hospital wing first though."

Then, before Nathanial could ask, Taylor added, "And you MU students will be rewarded later."

Nathanial pumped his fist, excited at the prospect of having some money to spend.

Taylor then 'poofed' out of the forest, leaving the students alone.

Max changed back into his lion form and bent down as Rafeal and Nathanial placed Lucy Winters on his back.

Then, he took off in the direction of the hospital wing whilst all the others left for the dining hall.

**********

Daniel wasn't too surprised when Taylor 'poofed' beside him.

Taylor explained what Sam had said and once again, 'poofed' out, the dining hall being her likely destination.

Daniel then made his way to the dining hall, leaving the red and blue flag in the ground, smiling at his and his team's achievement as he did so.

**Hey guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed that extra long chapter! Please continue to read and review, and send in your OC if you haven't already! **

**If you have any questions or queries, feel free to PM me as I am always happy to help!**


	10. Chapter 10

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Nine.

That night after the challenge, Daniel and the four other MU students were welcome warmly by their fellow MU students.

They were congratulated hugely, and only a few (including Naomi) mentioned Daniel's embarrassing fall whilst trying to catch the flag.

The four MC students were well received by the other MC students, considering their first loss in a while.

The students ate hard and celebrated long into the night, which Daniel enjoyed greatly.

However, Daniel found out from Max, that the lessons that Daniel had that day wouldn't be undertaken everyday.

Instead, lessons alternated. One day they would have something to do with being a mutant, the next they would be like a normal school's lessons (Maths, English, Science etc.).

This put a slight downer on Daniel's night, as Daniel had always struggled at school in comparison to his friends. Daniel had a very poor attention span, so whilst the ability was there, Daniel never seemed to follow through when it came to exams.

Daniel though decided that he wouldn't let these normal lessons upset him, as they worth enduring if they meant he could participate in the mutant lessons.

In the early hours of the morning, Daniel and his friends decided to call it a night after realizing that they had lessons the next day, and Daniel really didn't want to chance being late once again.

**********

Two weeks passed since MU's victory in the Capture the Flag challenge.

Daniel had managed to endure the more mental aspect of the academy, and relished the more mutant based lessons that the academy had to offer.

With the money he had won from the challenge, Suzana and Naomi had taken Daniel into town, where they bought things so that they could re- decorate Daniel's plain bedroom.

By the time they had finished, the room was no longer bland and plain.  
>Instead, it was sleek and modern. The room was a mix of white and black, but was completely kitted out with the latest technology.<p>

It wasn't particularly Suzana and Naomi's taste, but Daniel was more than pleased at his newly decorated room.

Since the success of both Jack's weapons in the night challenge, Jack had approached Sam about funding for more weapons for the mutants at IMA.

Sam agreed with Jack that the custom weapons had great potential, so together; they pitched the idea to wealthy American business tycoon Albert Hillsborough, another FAYZ survivor.

Albert was also a wealthy benefactor of the academy, and agreed to give Jack the money he needed.

However, even though two weeks had passed, Jack was yet to make any more weapons.

Jack seemed to think that although he had ideas about weapons, he wasn't going to be able to do them justice by making them himself, so he was on the lookout for a master craftsman.

Yet for the students of the International Mutant Academy, life had been fairly normal for the two weeks that followed MU's victory in the night challenge.

However, things were to change.

**********

Daniel, Nathanial, Naomi, Noelle, Aleine and Riley were taking part in their afternoon Power Development class, with Sam and Caine.

The group of students were currently trying out the short range weapons when the lesson was interrupted.

The doors to the gym flew open and Brianna appeared beside Sam.

Brianna looked slightly unnerved as she sighed, "Sam. You've got a call."

The woman held out a mobile phone to the man, who paused. He glanced at Caine who shrugged nonchalantly before taking the phone.

"Thanks Brianna." Sam said before turning to the class, "Carry on guys, this should only take a minute."

Sam and Brianna exited the room, leaving the students muttering between themselves and Caine trying to regain control of the class.

**********

Sam lifted the phone to his ear and said, "Hello?"

A voice on the other end replied, "Sam? It's great to hear you man. Long time no speak!"

Sam laughed casually, "Same here Edilio. How's Dekka?"

Edilio replied, "Not bad. Things have been a bit quiet recently. But, I think we've found the culprit."

Sam gasped, "Of the mutant kidnappings?"

Edilio then said, "Yeah. According to the others, mutant children have gone missing from all around the world."

Sam asked, "Do you reckon...he's behind it?"

Edilio sighed, "Drake? Probably. I mean, everyone we know who died in the FAYZ, had somehow come back to life when the FAYZ was destroyed, so what's to say Drake isn't alive?"

Brianna added, "Remember, Drake will want revenge for us destroying him and the FAYZ."

Sam nodded, "Sounds about right. Edilio, what would he want with mutant children?"

Edilio answered, "Maybe he's creating an army to fight us with."

Sam then asked, "So where have you tracked him down to?"

Edilio then said, "Hold on Sam. We don't know if it's actually Drake there. I don't think he's that stupid as to reveal himself yet."

Sam sighed, "You're probably right dude. Anyway, where are you?"

Edilio replied, "Dekka and I are outside this orphanage in Leeds, north-east of the academy. You better get up here quickly, and we might be able to stop them from taking any children."

Sam then said, "Of course, we'll be up there as soon as possible. Hold tight, and don't do anything without us."

Edilio laughed, "Wouldn't dream of it Sam!"

With that, the phone went dead. Sam handed the mobile back to Brianna and sighed.

Brianna asked, "Do you want me to round everyone up Sam?"

Sam shook his head, "No need Breeze. Just Jack and Orc. I'll catch them up on the way to Leeds; just tell them to meet us by the van in ten minutes."

Before Sam heard a reply from Brianna, she was already gone.

Sam then walked back into the gym, which fell instantly silent.

Sam grinned at the students, "I know it's early, but class dismissed. There are no more lessons for the day!"

Nathanial and Noelle instantly cheered, but Daniel, Naomi, Aleine and Riley had a feeling that something was wrong.

Sam nodded to Caine who got the message and the two brothers left the gym.

Riley turned to the others, "Something's wrong. Why else would lessons be cancelled?"

Naomi nodded, "I agree. But what should we do?"

Aleine suggested, "Why don't we go back to our common rooms and ask the others?"

Daniel nodded, "Okay then. See you girls later."

With that, Daniel, Naomi and Nathanial headed off to the MU common room whilst Aleine, Noelle and Riley made their way to the MC common room in order to ask others about the sudden cancellation of lessons by Sam.

**********

"Is it Drake?" Caine asked as he and his brother walked away from the gym together.

Sam replied, "We think so. We need to get to Leeds, or more mutants may be kidnapped."

Caine then said, "He'll probably not even be there, the coward."

Sam then added, "You're probably right. He wasn't there when you were on your mission in America, was he?"

Caine cursed, "No, but they still got that kid."

Sam put a consoling hand on his brother's shoulder, "It's alright Caine. There was nothing you could do for that kid. We'll get him back, I promise."

Caine then looked at his brother, "Fine. But last time, Penny, Howard and I had to watch as they took that boy away when we were in Texas. Can you promise me that we're not going to just stand by and let them get away with it this time?"

Sam smiled, "I promise you'll have your chance to stop them Caine. Think about it this way, you might be able to save that kid from Texas as well!"

Caine nodded, "Okay. Now let's go."

Then, the two brothers finished their journey to the van that Diana and Jack had initially used to collect Daniel, Naomi and Nathanial two weeks ago.

When they arrived, Brianna, Jack and Orc were already there. Sam explained the situation to the others, before Brianna jumped in the driver's seat.

The other four mutant adults clambered into the back, Sam and Jack sitting on one bench whilst Caine and Orc sat on the other.

The engine roared into life and the passengers could hear the tires squeal as Brianna pressed down hard on the accelerator pedal, meaning that they were on their way to Leeds.

**********

When Edilio had hung up the phone, he turned to face Dekka.

Both of them were survivors of the FAYZ and had grown to be good friends. Dekka was a very powerful mutant, with the power of gravity manipulation, whilst Edilio had no powers. He was just a brave man who had shown in the FAYZ that he was not afraid to fire a gun.

After the academy had been set up, Sam had asked them, and many of the others, a favour.

It was clear that all those who had been killed in the FAYZ or 'poofed' on their 15th birthday, were still actually alive when their time in the FAYZ had ended.

This worried Sam in particular, as this meant that Drake was alive, waiting to strike.

Drake was a very vengeful person, that was clear enough. But when and how he would exact his revenge, no one knew.

Because of this, those who wished not to stay at the academy all the time were to spread around the world.

Penny and Howard were stationed in Texas, relatively close to home in comparison to some of the others. In Texas, like the others, they had to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity that could tell them something about Drake Merwin.

Their other job was to look out for any young mutants and send them to the academy.

A little over two weeks ago, the pair of them had found a 13 year old mutant boy. They informed Sam who sent Caine over to America. The three of them were to meet with the boy and his parents, before Caine would take him back to IMA.

However, someone got there first. A large truck pulled outside the house, and two adults snatched the child from his room.

However, they were told not to act, as there may have been more people in the truck, and the three of them may not have been able to handle the situation.

This had infuriated both Penny and Caine, but Howard had persuaded them not to do anything brash.

The child was taken, and Caine had to return to England without the boy.

Edilio and Dekka did not want the same thing to happen on their watch, so as soon as they had tracked down a pair of mutant twins, they let Sam know before the truck could come to snatch them away again, like it had in Texas.

Apart from themselves in Leeds and Howard and Penny in Texas, there were five more pairs of old Perdido Beach residents.

As far as Edilio and Dekka knew, they were 'Little' Pete Ellison (who happened to be relatively tall now) and Sam's best friend, Quinn Gaither.

There was also the mutant, Hunter, and John Terrafino.

In the FAYZ, John and his sister Mary had looked after the younger children until Mary decided to 'poof' on her 15th birthday. Now though, she wanted to make up for her mistake, so she was paired with the mutant Duck Zhang.

Another pair was Toto and Darla, both who were originally living in the Project Cassandra research centre in the FAYZ, both of who were mutants.

Finally, the last pair that Edilio and Dekka knew of was Orsay and Sanjit. Orsay was a mutant, unlike Sanjit, yet the pair both wanted to help Sam, so they volunteered to do as he asked.

As Edilio faced his friend, he sighed, "They're on their way Dekka."

Dekka nodded, "Good. Let's just hope they get in here time."

Edilio bowed his head, "Amen to that."

**********

Back at the academy, Nathanial, Daniel and Naomi were walking back to the MU common room when Daniel suddenly stopped.

The two turned to face him and Nathanial asked, "What are you doing mate?"

Daniel grinned, "I know how to find out what's going on."

Naomi gasped, "Really? How?"

Daniel smirked, "It's easy. I think we ought to pay Taylor a visit."

**********

"Sorry guys, I can't tell you." Taylor said as she leant back in her chair.

Nathanial crossed his arms and frowned, "Come on Taylor, we just want to know what's going on."

Naomi added, "Don't you think we have a right to know Taylor?"

Daniel then said, "Anyway, aren't you annoyed at being left behind? Maybe telling us might make you feel better!"

Taylor closed her eyes momentarily whilst contemplating what the three kids had said.

She opened her eyes and sighed, "Yeah, I guess you ought to know."

Then, the woman told the three students about Sam and the others' trip to Leeds.

After Taylor finished, she continued to lean back in her chair and smiled smugly at the kids.

Daniel finally spoke, "Wow. Sounds pretty serious."

Taylor nodded, "It is."

Nathanial raised an eyebrow, "I believe you Taylor, but how did you find out what was going on anyway?"

Taylor grinned, "I have my methods."

Daniel growled, "Taylor!"

Taylor laughed, "Calm down Mr King! I overhead Sam speaking to Edilio when he was on the phone."

Daniel sighed, "Fine. That sounds reasonable Taylor, thank you for telling us."

Taylor shrugged, "No problem."

With that, the three students made their way back to the MU common room.

Upon arriving there, they realized that many others had decided to also go to the common room, as they had.

Daniel took both Nathanial and Naomi to a corner and whispered, "We've got to go after them."

Nathanial laughed, "You're kidding me Daniel! They obviously don't want us in Leeds, otherwise they would have told us themselves!"

Daniel replied, "It isn't fair that we're being excluded because we're younger than them! Why shouldn't we be able to help our fellow mutants?"

Naomi then said, "They're obviously just trying to protect us Daniel. They probably believe that as the adults, they need to take control. Can you understand their thinking?"

Daniel sighed, "I suppose."

Naomi nodded, "Good. Now, let's just sit tight and wait to hear from Sam and the others."

Daniel replied, "Okay Naomi. I'm just going to my room."

Daniel smiled at Nathanial and Naomi before walking further into the common room.

Daniel then looked over his shoulder to find that both Nathanial and Naomi were no longer looking in his direction.

Then, Daniel approached a boy who was reading a book in the corner of the common room.

Daniel coughed, "Excuse me Max?"

Max looked up from his book and smiled, "Ah Daniel. How are you?"

Daniel smiled back at the polite boy, "Not bad thanks mate. But, I have a favour to ask."

Max replied, "A favour?"

Daniel nodded and then quietly retold Max, what Taylor had told him.

After finishing, Daniel asked, "So, I wandered if you could follow them to Leeds, and at the first sight of danger, come and get me, okay?"

Max stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and nodded, "Okay Daniel, I understand."

With that, Daniel made his way back to his room, whilst Max made his way outside the building, in order to travel to Leeds.

As Daniel entered his newly styled bedroom, before lying down on his bed, Daniel closed his eyes and prepared to wait for a signal from Max, as he really didn't like the idea that Sam and the others thought that they were all too young to protect themselves.

Daniel was intent on proving them wrong.

**Hey guys and girls! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter which really sets up the main story behind this fanfic! I'm sorry you've had to wait a while for this chapter, so I promise you that the next one will be a lot quicker! Please PM me or review with any questions or general comments you want to make about this new chapter or the fanfic in general, as I'm sure you know by now but I am always happy to help!**


	11. Chapter 11

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Ten.

Upon arriving in Leeds, the van suddenly came to a halt.

Sam was the first to open the doors at the back of the van and clamber out onto a simple Leeds street, with houses on either side of the road.

The others followed, before Brianna turned off the engine and got out of the van herself.

She walked over to the other four men, but before any of the group could say something, someone coughed behind them.

The whole group wheeled round to see a man and a woman standing side by side.

Sam exclaimed, "Edilio! Dekka! It's been so long."

Sam, Brianna and Jack embraced the pair without hesitation, whilst Caine and Orc simply smiled.

After they separated, Edilio laughed, "Thanks guys, but we've got stuff to do."

Caine nodded, "That's right. Where's this orphanage then?"

Dekka used her hand to point, "Just round the corner in a park. There's no sign of any trouble yet."

Jack nodded, "That's good. But we can't just sit here and wait for them to get here."

Orc grunted, "Jack's right. We need to get the mutant kids and get the hell out of here."

Dekka grinned, "What's this? Orc wanting to avoid a fight?"

Orc stuttered, "Uh, I just..."

Sam held his hand up, "Don't listen Orc. He's right Dekka, the less attention we draw to ourselves, the better."

Dekka sighed, "I was only kidding Sam, I agree with Orc anyway."

Sam nodded, "Good. Take us to this orphanage then."

Edilio lead the group down the road, from where Brianna had parked the van, and into a picturesque park.

There, was a contrasting building. It was very dull and bland, but large. It was clearly capable of housing many orphans though.

Edilio pointed towards the front door, "They're in there. We know that there are mutant twins in there, but who they are and what powers they have, we simply do not know."

Sam shrugged, "I have a feeling that won't matter."

Brianna then asked, "So who's going in?"

Jack frowned, "What do you mean? If we all go, we'll be quicker."

Caine shook his head, "We can't all go in. The majority of us should stand guard. I think Sam should go, he is the headmaster after all."

Orc nodded, "Caine's right."

Sam sighed, "Okay then. I'll go in and get the twins, you six stand here and watch out for Drake."

Sam then turned away from the others and stepped inside the orphanage.

The entrance hall was empty, apart an elderly woman sitting at the receptionist desk in the middle of the entrance hall.

Sam approached the desk and smiled at the woman, "Excuse me?"

The woman looked up and returned the smile, "Hello dear. Can I help you?"

Sam continued, "I'm looking for two children."

The woman laughed, "Your going to have to be a little bit more specific than that dear."

Sam smiled, "Sorry. They're twins."

The woman replied, "Oh, the twins! Of course, follow me."

The elderly receptionist then led Sam, from the entrance hall and up a winding staircase.

She then walked all the way down the corridor, until she stopped at a wooden door. Nailed onto the door was a plaque which read, 'Conners'.

The lady knocked three times with her fist before calling, "Beth...Ross...are you in there? You've got a visitor."

A boy's voice answered, "Yeah, come in!"

The woman opened the door and gestured for Sam to enter.

She then said, "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

The elderly woman then left and returned to her desk, down the stairs.

Sam stepped inside the twins' room and closed the door behind him.

The room was quite plain, being mainly white with a small wooden desk in the corner and a wooden bunk bed on the other side of the room.

The girl, who Sam assumed was Beth, was lying on her bed reading, whilst her twin Ross was sitting at the desk, drawing in a sketchbook.

Beth had long blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail. She was reasonably tall for sixteen, and had very similar facial features to her twin.

Ross had short spiky blond hair, and was slightly taller and bulkier than his sister.

The boy looked up, after putting down a pencil, and frowned, "Who are you then?"

Sam replied, "I'm Sam Temple, and I need to speak with you two."

The girl now put down her book and looked at the visitor, "Where have I seen you before?"

Sam sighed, "Well..."

Beth exclaimed, "That's it! You're a mutant and were in Perdido Beach twenty-five years ago!"

Sam nodded, "That's right. And I know that I'm not the only mutant in this room."

Both Beth and Ross froze, before Beth hissed, "How do you know that!"

Sam answered, "In Manchester, I run an academy for young mutants such as yourselves, so we're always on the lookout for new mutants. However, we have reason to believe that unless you come to the academy now, you may be in grave danger."

Ross grinned, "Sounds good to me!"

Beth however was not so easily won over and asked, "What kind of danger?"

Sam explained, "We believe that an old acquaintance of mine, Drake Merwin, has been kidnapping young mutants like the two of you. It seems that he is raising an army in order to take over the world."

Ross whistled, "Wow. This guy sounds like a right nutter."

Beth grimaced at her twin's remark before asking, "But why are these mutants fighting for him?"

Sam shrugged, "Who knows? He could be bribing them or controlling them, we don't know for sure yet. But, out of curiosity, what are your powers?"

The twins looked at one another before Ross nodded and turned to face Sam, "If you really want to know, I can enhance my own or other people's senses, by touching them."

Beth added, "And I can diminish people's senses by touch."

Sam gasped, "Wow, those are two really interesting powers."

Ross nodded, "Yeah, but we can't really control them yet, it's a bit of a lottery at the moment."

Sam smiled at the boy, "Well Ross, Beth, at IMA, you will learn how to control and master your power. Will you come with me to Manchester?"

Beth and Ross hesitated, before Beth nodded, "Yes. We'll trust you Mr Temple."

Sam grinned, "Excellent. Now, we really must get out of here."

Sam wandered over to the window at the far end of the room and looked out onto the park below.

Sam could see Brianna, Jack, Caine and Orc all standing in a group.

But then, much to Sam's anger, he saw a white truck pull up just outside the park.

Sam cursed, "They're here. We need to go, now! Leave your things and let's let going!"

Ross nodded, "Fine. Lead the way...headmaster."

Sam smirked at the boy's cheek and led the twins, empty handed, down the stairs and into the entrance hall.

The elderly receptionist was just picking up the phone to dial, as Sam and the twins entered the entrance hall.

Sam asked urgently, "Who are you ringing?"

The woman exclaimed, "I need to phone the police! A fight's breaking out in the park outside, and a gun's been fired!"

Sam groaned and held up his hand. From it, a beam of green light erupted and completely destroyed the phone in the woman's hand.

The woman looked at where the phone had just been, gasped, and fainted.

After seeing this, both Beth and Ross stared blankly at Sam who sighed, "I couldn't let her call the police, okay? The less people that see us, the better."

Both twins nodded slowly, before following Sam, through the entrance hall and out of the orphanage.

**********

(10 minutes earlier)

Brandon Matthews sighed as the white truck he was driving came to a halt. From the window, Brandon could see a fairly picturesque park.

From next to him, in the passenger seat, a woman spoke, "The orphanage is in there."

Brandon nodded, "Good. Let's get going."

Brandon checked in the mirror and saw nothing, but himself.

Brandon was born and bred in England, more specifically London.

He was in his mid-thirties, and was of average height. He had short black hair with matching black stubble. Brandon was wearing ripped jeans with a tight, navy blue t-shirt.

As Brandon exited the truck and locked the door, he met up with the woman passenger at the back of the truck.

The woman's name was Maria Lowry, and she was an American in her early twenties.

Maria had short brunette hair and was an incredibly beautiful woman.

She was also wearing a tight t-shirt but she wore a denim mini skirt with it.

Maria turned to Brandon, "Scan the area...see if this should be easy."

Brandon nodded and closed his eyes. The man's mind went blank momentarily, before he began to feel a faint throbbing in the direction of the orphanage.

Brandon's eyes snapped open and fixed on Maria. He then said, "There are mutants at the orphanage."

Maria asked, "What. The twins we're here to get?"

Brandon nodded, "Yes. But there are others. One's going into the orphanage while some other mutants seem to be standing guard outside."

Maria nodded, "Okay, well done."

The woman then turned from her male associate, towards the back of the truck.

She rapped her fist, three times on the door.

After a couple of seconds, the door flung open and standing there was a huge man.

He must have been at least six foot seven and had short blond hair. He was incredibly muscular and was wearing tracksuit bottoms, trainers and a plain white vest.

The man said, "Yes?"

Maria acknowledged the man, "Jussi, this operation may be a little harder than we first thought. There are other mutants at the orphanage...we need your help."

Jussi nodded once, "Fine."

The big Finnish man named Jussi Taipale jumped down from the truck and closed the door behind him.

Brandon then asked, "What about the kids. Will they cause a problem whilst we're gone?"

Jussi laughed, "Thanks to Maria, the boys won't cause any problems! The Ghanaian and French girls are awake, but they should be powerless until we get back."

Maria giggled, "Wonderful! Now, let's go."

Then, the three adults walked side by side, into the park and towards the orphanage.

As they got nearer, the three adults spotted two woman and four men standing outside the building, chatting amongst themselves.

Brandon then spoke, "That's them. One mutant is still inside with the two targets though."

Maria shrugged, "No problem. I'll handle the guys and Jussi can handle the girls."

Jussi paused, "Don't we know those guys?"

Maria nodded, "They're who 'he' was talking about. They're the Perdido Beach mutants."

Brandon nodded, "Strong mutants indeed. Remember, we need to get those twins from the orphanage first of all."

Maria nodded back, "True. But wouldn't 'he' love it if we bring Temple with us?"

The two men thought about this and Brandon chuckled, "I guess so! Fine then, the twins first and Sam Temple if we can. Okay?"

Maria and Jussi nodded before the three adults approached the Perdido Beach mutants.

Maria coughed, which made the other six mutants turn to face her.

The woman called Brianna frowned, "Excuse me? What do you want?"

Maria giggled playfully, "Not much. I just wanted to say, hey boys!"

Maria then proceeded to waving sexily at the four mutant men, whilst batting her eyelids at them.

Brianna rolled her eyes, "Oh please! Now you're just embarrassing yourself. Who are you three?"

Maria laughed, "All you need to know is we're here for the twins."

Dekka took a step back, "You're the mutant kidnappers?"

Maria shrugged her shoulders, "That's us alright!"

Brandon nodded, "Now, just hand over the kids and we'll let you live."

Brianna howled with laughter, "Hand over the kids? You'll let us live?"

Brianna suddenly seized up before glaring at the three adults, "Not. A. Chance."

She then turned to the four Perdido Beach men, "Come on guys!"

However, none of the men responded.

Dekka frowned, "Caine? Orc? Jack? Edilio?"

Both Brianna and Dekka stepped forward to look at the faces of their male friends.

All of the men were gaping at Maria, their mouths wide open and their eyes fixed on the beautiful woman.

Brianna waved her hand in front of Caine's eyes, "Hello? Caine, snap out of it!"

Maria giggled once more, "There's no point trying honey, let's just say those boys are a little occupied right now!"

Dekka sighed, "You've got to be kidding me. You're power is the ability to hypnotize boys?"

Maria smiled sweetly, "That's right."

Brianna growled, "I've just about had enough of you."

Brianna then took a few steps forward and felt for the knife which was strapped to the back of her leg.

However, Brianna stumbled to a halt before shouting, "What the hell? Why can't I go 'Breeze' on their asses?"

Dekka frowned before trying her own power.

After seeing her power fail to work, Dekka cursed, "Damn it."

Brianna asked, whilst taking a step back from the three strangers, "What's going on Dekka?"

Dekka replied, "My guess is one of their powers is to disable other mutant powers."

Maria grinned, "Ding ding ding...we have a winner!"

Brandon put a hand on the big Scandinavian's shoulder, "Jussi here, as you said, is capable of stopping who ever he wants from using their powers! Now, if you would please put your hands behind your head and lie on the floor. If you do this, I might not actually shoot you!"

As if to make his point clear, Brandon produced a revolver from his pocket and cocked it, before pointing it in the girls' direction.

"Come on girls, we haven't got all day!" Brandon added.

Dekka muttered nasty threats under her breath before doing as Brandon said and lying on the floor with her hands behind her head.

Brandon smirked, "Very good. Now you." he said to Brianna.

Brianna glared at the man angrily before muttering under her breath, "Not a chance."

Brianna placed a hand on the floor, as if to start lying down, before actually grasping the knife that was strapped to the back of her leg and ripping it free from its restraints.

Brianna then drew it over her shoulder before throwing it towards the man holding the revolver.

The knife sped through the air, and there was nothing any of the adults could do as the knife landed in Brandon's shoulder.

Instantly, Brandon fell backwards and shouted out in pain. The man squeezed the trigger as he fell, firing a bullet just over Brianna's head before hitting the ground hard.

Maria ran to Brandon's side before dropping to her knees to inspect the wound.

Dekka and Brianna looked at each other momentarily before nodding.

Dekka jumped athletically to her feet before the two girls hurled themselves at the large Scandinavian man called Jussi.

The combined power of the girls managed to knock the huge man to the floor, as they took him by surprise.

After finding himself on his back and pinned down by two women, Jussi roared in anger.

Jussi flung his large arm which sent the larger Dekka sprawling. Dekka landed on her head a couple of meters away from Jussi, and seemed to lie still on the ground.

Jussi then turned his attention to the smaller Brianna. Jussi grasped Brianna by the throat and lifted her into the air as he got back on his feet.

Jussi roared in a rage as he watched Brianna trying to breathe, but found herself unable to due to the large Scandinavian hand clutching at her throat.

Brianna felt her energy draining as she struggled in man's animal like grasp.

Brianna saw that Dekka still hadn't moved since Jussi had thrown her off of him. The American woman was still tending to the British man's knife wound, courtesy of Brianna herself. Brianna also saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Jack, Orc, Caine and Edilio were all motionless thanks to the American woman's power.

Brianna knew that she only had one hope of surviving. Brianna prayed to God that Sam had heard the gunshot from inside the orphanage; otherwise this was it for the 'Breeze'.

**Hey guys and girls, told you it wouldn't be too long before I put up the new chapter! I hope you're enjoying the fanfic, so feel free like normal to review or PM me if you have anything to ask or tell me. As ever guys, I'm always happy to help if you just ask me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the Ocs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Eleven.

Sam was shocked at the scene he witnessed after exiting the orphanage with Beth and Ross Conners.

After opening the door, Sam saw a huge blond man roaring as his huge hand was slowly choking Brianna to death.

Dekka was laying face down on the floor, a few meters away from the huge man and Brianna, but was not moving. Sam instantly assumed she had been knocked unconscious.

Then, on the other side of the man and Brianna was a man crying out in pain whilst holding his shoulder. By his side was a woman who was trying to calm the man down whilst tending to his wound.

Then, to top it off, Jack, Caine, Orc and Edilio were standing motionless by the entrance to the orphanage.

Sam was incredibly confused by the entire situation, but knew if he didn't act, Brianna might not make it.

Sam turned to the twins, who looked just as surprised as he did, and said, "I need to help my friends, okay?"

The twins nodded and Sam raised his hands in the direction of the huge blond man who was strangling Brianna, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to fire any green light.

Daniel swore and said out loud, "That guy must have the power to cancel out other mutants. Wow, that's really annoying."

Daniel continued, "Ross, see to the four men over there and see what's wrong. Beth, I need you to look after Dekka, over there." Sam pointed to Dekka whilst saying her name and the twins nodded again. Ross then asked, "What about that lady?"

Daniel replied, "Brianna? Don't worry, I'll help her."

Whilst the twins got on with the tasks Daniel had given them, Daniel sighed and sprinted towards the huge blond man before rugby tackling him to the ground with the momentum he had generated.

This caused Jussi to lose his grip on Brianna's throat and the three of them fell in a pile on the floor.

Brianna was still hurting and Daniel was still trying to recapture his breath as the huge Fin got back to his feet. He then kicked Daniel hard in the head, before picking the now immobile man up and hoisting him over his shoulder.

Jussi sprinted over to Maria who was still trying to stop the blood that was flowing from the knife wound in Brandon's shoulder.

Jussi shook the woman, "Maria, come on, we have to get out of here."

Maria stared at the man who loomed over her and spoke with tears in her eyes, "But what about Brandon? We can't just leave him here Jussi!"

Jussi nodded, "We have to. We need to get the cargo back to base."

Maria then said, "But what about the targets? We can't leave without them, or 'he' will kill us!"

Jussi grinned, "Who cares about those kids? We've got plenty as it as, and I don't think he'll mind when he realizes we've got Temple."

Maria turned from Brandon to Jussi and back again, before tearfully standing up and nodding reluctantly, "Fine," she said, "I'll drive. You just look after Temple and the others in the back."

The pair then sprinted off through the park before clambering into their respective places in the white truck and driving off.

This was much to the annoyance of Ross who despite not knowing much about what was going on, had sprinted after the pair as he had seen them take Sam with them.

When they had driven off and out of sight, Ross returned to his sister who had now stopped looking at Dekka and was now kneeling next to Brianna.

Ross swore, "They've gone Beth. And they've taken Sam with them. How's Dekka?"

Beth looked up, "The girl Sam told me to check up on? Alive, but out cold. She must have taken quite a bad blow on her head, there's a lot of bruising." 

Brianna, with some help from Beth, struggled to her feet, "Well, at least she's alive. Let's be that grateful. You two must be the twins, I'm Brianna."

Ross nodded, "That's right. I'm Ross Conners and that helping you is my sister Beth."

Brianna sighed, "I heard what you said before. Sam's been taken by that incredibly annoying woman and that brute of a man." She coughed a little.

Beth asked, "Are you going to be alright?"

Brianna nodded, "Don't worry, I've been through worse. I just feel a little out of breath is all, after all, that man had a monster grip." Brianna's glance now turned to the stationary men.

"Are they alright?" She asked the twins.

Ross replied, "I think so. They've all got pulses, even the one with the rock like body!"

Brianna let out a soft smile, "That's Orc. The others are Jack, Caine and Edilio."

But then, Brianna realized that apart from the twins, herself, the unconscious Dekka and the four stationary men, there was another who was lying on the floor breathing heavily and his hand was dyed red with the blood as it lay on top of the wound that Brianna herself had inflicted, although the knife was now out of the man's shoulder and lying beside him.

Brianna walked away from the twins and towards the prone man. She knelt down beside him and said forcefully, "You better start talking mate."

The man managed to say, "Why should I? I'm going to die soon thanks to you."

Brianna growled, "You should have thought about that before you decided to help kidnapping kids."

The man stayed silent and Brianna sighed, "Fine then. You tell me what I want and I promise I can get you medical help."

The man's eyes lit up, "Seriously?"

Brianna nodded, "You heard me right. Now, who are you and who were the others?"

The man explained with a sense of strain in his voice, "I'm Brandon Matthews, a mutant. I can sense mutants, but not who they are and what the powers are, just where they are. The woman is Maria Lowry; she can put men in trances, stopping them from interfering with her business. Finally is Jussi Taipale. He can negate any powers he likes, as long as he's in range."

Brianna gasped, "In range? Does that mean I can use my powers again?"

Brandon nodded, "I guess."

Brianna then said, "Okay then Brandon, but what about Maria's powers? When will the guys snap out of the trance?"

Brandon explained, "Same applies with Maria as it did with Jussi. As she gets further away, they should come back to their senses."

Then, almost like magic, all four of the men gasped as they became mobile once more.

Ross and Beth, shocked at the sight started to back off, where as Brianna sprung up from the ground and ran to embrace the men, even Orc and Caine along with Jack and Edilio.

Caine said, "Uh, what are you doing Brianna? And where are those three people?"

Orc pointed towards the prone Brandon, "Is that one with blood coming out of his shoulder?" 

Jack then gasped when he caught sight of a woman lying still on the floor, "What happened to Dekka?"

Edilio then gestured towards Beth and Ross, "And are these the twins we were looking for?"

Brianna released the men and explained everything that had happened since Maria Lowry had immobilized them.

In response, Caine swore, "Wow, that woman really is a horrible human being. And they took Sam?"

Brianna nodded, "That's right."

Edilio sighed, "At least we've got the kids and not them."

Brianna then said, "But we need to get Dekka and Brandon to Lana as soon as possible. Brandon's been co-operative so far and I promised him medical aid. After all, he may have some more useful information which will be irrelevant if he's dead."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "What are waiting for then?" He approached the immobile Dekka and lifted her over his shoulder.

Before then walking over to Brandon, however Brandon said, "Wait, before we go I must tell you something else."

Caine frowned, "Why? Aren't the other two your friends?"

Brandon snarled, "They were. Friends don't leave each other to die. Anyway, I hated that we had to round the mutant kids up and transport them like cargo, so if I can help save them now, I'll do it."

Brianna nodded before kneeling next to him, "Well thank you Brandon, that's good of you. Anything you can tell us will help."

Brandon then said, ""Maria and Jussi will be heading to a warehouse in Doncaster with the kids. Those were our orders. We were supposed to head to Doncaster after we'd picked up the twins. Tomorrow, someone was supposed to be picking them up and putting them on a plane at the nearby airport."

Brianna gasped, "Where to Brandon?"

Brandon replied, "I don't know. They never told us where all the children would be sent. But, you need to stop them getting on that plane Brianna. If they leave England, you'll never get another chance to save them."

Caine then asked, "How many mutants will be at the warehouse?"

Brandon thought, "Um, excluding Maria and Jussi, seven kids. One from Holland, one French, one German, one from Ghana, one Italian, one American and one Irish."

Edilio whistled, "Wow, you really did get around."

Brandon managed to nod, "Ross and Beth were the last targets we were given."

Orc grunted, "Who were you working for?"

Brandon answered, "I think you've met him. Drake Merwin."

Brianna cursed, "Hell, I knew we were right! Damn it, I can't believe he's back."

Caine said calmly, "I think we knew this would happen, so let's just get on with it Brianna. Brandon, what is Drake up to?"

Brandon replied honestly, "I really don't know. He never told us the 'grand plan'. We just did what he asked of us?"

Jack then said, "But why? Why would you listen to Drake 'the psychopath' Merwin?"

Brandon sighed, "Maria, Jussi and I were lost. We discovered our powers late on and our families thought of us as freaks. We were abandoned and Drake was there with answers, so to answer your question, he was the only one there for us. But now, I can see he was  
>using us for his own personal gain."<p>

Orc growled, "That sounds like that scumbag."

Ross whispered to Beth, "This Drake sounds like a real sicko."

Beth nodded and gulped, "Yep. Let's hope we don't actually meet him then bro."

Brianna smiled at the prone man and said, "Okay Brandon, you've been a real help, but I need to ask one last question. Apart from Maria, Jussi, yourself and the children in the truck,"

Jack interjected, "And Sam."

Brianna sighed before continuing, "And Sam. Does Drake have any other mutants you know of?"

Brandon replied, "From what I heard, Drake has many other adult mutants in different countries looking for more powerful mutant children. We were not the only ones. In terms of other confirmed children?"

Brandon outstretched his hand and all his fingers were outstretched also.

"Five?" Brianna asked.

Brandon nodded. Brianna laughed, "That's not many! We've got way more at the academy."

Brandon grabbed Brianna's top and pulled her in close, "This isn't funny. He's been training them for years. He's been preparing, what ever his plan is, for years. These kids are powerful mutants, and if Drake is their teacher, expect them to be ruthless."

Brianna nodded, "Thank you Brandon."

With that, Jack picked Brandon up carefully and put him on his other shoulder. Jack said, "Let's go." and began to walk off in the direction of the van they had driven in from Manchester.

Beth, Ross, Caine, Orc and Edilio began to follow Jack, but Brianna didn't move an inch.

Edilio turned round and said, "Brianna? What are you doing?"

Brianna picked up the bloody knife before wiping it off and strapping it again to the back of her leg. She grinned at the Honduran, "I'm going to save Sam and the kids."

Jack gasped, "Brianna, you can't be serious! It's suicide if you go by yourself."

Brianna replied, "But I can't just leave Sam! The reason he got taken is because he was saving me. Take the twins, Dekka and Brandon back to IMA, I'll see you there tomorrow."

Caine roared, "No Brianna! You won't be doing anyone any favors by getting yourself killed. We'll need everyone if we're going to beat Drake, so suicide missions are definitely off limits."

Brianna sighed, "Fine. But what do you suggest? We can't just leave them."

Caine nodded, "I agree that we can't leave them, so hear me out. We'll go back to the academy and you head to Doncaster, but you can not engage them. Watch them and find out anything you can, we'll meet you there tomorrow morning and take them out together."

Brianna then raised an eyebrow, "A stake-out? Okay Caine, that sounds like a plan."

Jack nodded, "Now that I agree with. We'll see you later then Brianna."

However, he stopped in his tracks as Brandon mustered his energy to call out, "Wait! We're not the only mutants here."

Edilio frowned, "What are you on about?"

Brandon whispered and pointed, "In that tree, I can sense mutant power."

Orc, a bit confused approached the tree and barked, "Okay then, we know you're there. Come on down."

The whole group fell silent for a moment before a bird hopped out of the nearby tree and landed on the ground, several feet from any of the others.

Everyone stepped back apart from Brianna who took a step forward and said, "What are you doing here Max? Why aren't you at the academy?"

Beth and Ross gasped as the bird transformed into a boy about their age.

Max smiled sheepishly at the group, "Hey guys. Daniel found out about what you were doing and we decided I should just watch out for you in case you needed back up."

Caine frowned, "How did Mr King know what we were doing Max?"

Max stuttered, "Uh..."

Jack sighed, "No need to answer Max. It was obviously Taylor."

Brianna shook her head, "Taylor really does have a problem. But, let's look at this like a good thing. Caine, Jack, Orc and Edilio, you guys can still take the twins, Dekka and Brandon back to the Academy. I can still do the stake-out and now, I need you Max to fly back to the academy and talk to Diana. Let her know what has happened and tell her to get a team together of female students, ready to meet me first thing tomorrow morning at the warehouse."

Caine exclaimed, "Girls? What are you on about Brianna?"

The girl sighed, "Honestly Caine, I thought you were clever. If any of you guys come, or Daniel and the other guys back at the academy, that Maria will stop you too easily. This is a woman's job, simple as that."

Caine sighed, "Fine, I understand. Good luck Brianna."

With that, the adults made their way back towards the white van.

Max transformed back into a bird and took off into the skies.

Ross however approached Brianna, "Uh Brianna, I think I could help you with the stake-out."

Brianna replied, "But Ross, I've already said that it's too dangerous for guys."

Ross shook his head, "No, you've got me wrong. I don't want to come, but my powers may help you with the stake-out."

Brianna raised an eyebrow, "Your powers?"

Ross nodded and grasped Brianna's hand with his before closing his eyes and concentrating.

Brianna felt a weird buzzing sensation as he did so and felt slightly different when he had let go.

"What have you done?" Brianna said as she examined the hand that Ross had held.

Ross smiled at the woman, "I've enhanced your senses slightly. It's not much, but you'll hear more clearly, see with more detail and smell things you otherwise wouldn't notice. It might just aid your efforts at a stake-out."

Brianna returned the smile, "Well thank you Ross, I'm sure you've just made my task a little easier already. See you in a bit kids."

With that, Brianna had disappeared in a flash.

Ross looked at his sister and sighed, "What have we got ourselves into now sis?"

Beth grinned at her twin, "I don't quite know bro, but I have a feeling this was meant to happen."

With that, the twins sprinted through the park and away from the orphanage, in order to catch up with the others.

**Hey guys and girls! I know it's been a while since I've updated this story but I really enjoy writing it! I've got some really cool story lines for both you who love the 'Gone franchise and hopefully for the rest of you who haven't read them, so keep reading! I enjoy this so much because I can get really creative with the powers and on that note; I want to thank all of you who have so far submitted your own mutant! **

**And as you can guess, I won't just be using Daniel through this fanfic. I intend to do chapters with just your OCs as well! As that is the case, please keep submitting your wonderful OCs, and if any catch my eye, especially those with some really creative powers, I will most definitely be using them in this fanfic!**

**So, as ever guys, feel free to review or PM me if you have anything to ask or tell me. As you probably know by now, I'm always happy to help if you just ask me!**


	13. Chapter 13

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the OCs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Twelve

Diana was sitting in her office, sipping a cup of nice, hot coffee and talking to Astrid when Max Everdeen came bursting into her office.

Diana, slightly shocked by the usually reserved boy's brash behavior, said, "Excuse me Max, can I help you?"

Max then said, whilst nearly out of breath, "Diana, Astrid, there's been a problem with Sam and the others in Leeds."

Diana gasped, "How did you know about Leeds, Max?"

Astrid and Diana slowly turned to look at each other before sighing and saying in unison, before Max could even reply, "Taylor."

Max nodded and told the woman about what had happened at the orphanage, that the guys were headed back to IMA with the twins, Dekka and Brandon.

Also that Sam had been taken by people working for Drake Merwin and that Brianna was staking them out at a warehouse in Doncaster.

Max could see Astrid shudder when he mentioned Drake, but had decided to carry on regardless.

When he finished, Diana sighed, "We all knew this day would come, but none of us predicted when and that we'd have to face it without Sam. Astrid, what do you think?"

Astrid paused for a second before replying, "I agree with Caine and Brianna's plan. We need to put together a team of girls and hope their training's been good enough. Also, their first task should be to free the kids before then freeing Sam; after all, that's what he'd have wanted."

Diana nodded firmly, "Agreed. Now who should go?"

Astrid thought for a moment before replying, "What about Riley D'Antonio, Suzana Gale, Noelle Daniels, Narcissa Hendrix, Karilyn Fraser and Lucy Winters? They're probably the more experienced female students we have. After all, they all proved themselves in the Capture the Flag house challenge a couple of weeks ago."

Diana listened to the suggestion before nodding, "Six? I think you've got the right people for the job there Astrid. Max, would you mind fetching the girls and bringing them here now please."

Max nodded and ran off quickly. Astrid then asked Diana, "Is it really safe to send these girls to Doncaster, Diana? It could be very dangerous."

Diana sighed, "It may be dangerous, but we can't just leave these mutant kids to be shipped off. And what about Sam? I thought you'd understand the most Astrid."

Astrid paused and looked a little hurt, "Yeah, I guess you're right Diana. But I know Sam wouldn't want anyone getting hurt or killed for his sake."

Diana replied bluntly, "Well he's not here Astrid, so it's not his decision to make. It's ours. Do you agree?"

Astrid nodded slowly, "Yes Diana, I agree."

Diana smiled kindly, "Good. Now, whilst I'm talking to the kids and briefing them, I need you to pay a visit to Jack's office."

Astrid asked, "How come?"

Diana then said, "Firstly, the girls need protection for the mission. As well, if Drake somehow got a hold of the identities of any of our students, I'm certain that he's sick enough in the head to go after their families."

Astrid gasped, "We can't let that happen!"

Diana replied, "I know. That's why Sam asked Jack to prepare for such a situation. Although he hasn't finished, there should be some simple Kevlar suits. Bring six of the female ones."

Astrid asked, "But what about their names? How can they communicate if they can't use each other's names?"

Diana shrugged, "Simple. They use code names."

Astrid nodded, "Okay, I'll be as quick as possible."

With that, the woman exited the room, leaving Diana alone with just a cup of coffee and her thoughts to keep her occupied.

**********

It was a good half an hour before Max had managed to find all six of the girls that he had been asked to find.

He hadn't told them anything, as he thought it would be best for Diana and Astrid to explain the situation they were in, rather than him. Instead, he just said that Diana had wanted to see them in her office and so they followed the boy.

But, on their way back to the office, Daniel King caught sight of Max.

Daniel cried, "Hey Max!"

Max wheeled round as the boy approached him.

"Oh, hey Daniel." Max said calmly.

Daniel leant in and whispered, ignoring the weird looks from the six girls who were stood behind Max, "So, you never told me about Leeds. I've been waiting for you man."

Max sighed and responded in an equally quiet voice, "I'm sorry Daniel, but things didn't go exactly according to plan."

Max then explained what he had witnessed whilst hiding in the tree outside the orphanage in Leeds.

After Max finished, Daniel said with a hint of anger in his voice, "What? I thought you said you were going to get me if something like that happened Max! I could have helped...I could have saved Sam!"

Max shook his head, "I'm so sorry Daniel, but there was nothing you could have done."

Daniel then growled, "At least let me come with you to Diana. I have to go to Doncaster with the girls."

Max sighed, "You just can't Daniel. That Maria Lowry and Jussi Taipale would leave you powerless. There's a reason that Diana and Astrid asked for the girls and not you, Nathanial, Rafeal or the others. Hell, I'm not even going!"

Daniel sighed, "Fine then, I'll see you around."

Daniel proceeded to walk away, despite Noelle winking at the boy.

When he was out of earshot, Daniel murmured, "I hate being useless. One way or another, I'm getting to Doncaster."

**********

When she heard a knock on her door, Diana called, "Come in."

The door opened and the six girls, led by Max Everdeen, entered the office.

Diana gestured for the girls to sit down on the sofa that sat opposite Diana's desk and armchair, before saying, "Thank you for everything Max, but that'll be all."

Max nodded and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Suzana then asked, "So, Miss Ladris, what's up?"

Narcissa added, "And will this take long? Our next lesson starts soon after all."

Diana sighed, "Sorry to disappoint girls but there'll be no more lessons for you today."

Noelle grinned at the news, "Yes!"

However, Riley asked, "How come?"

Diana then told the five girls about everything that had occurred at the orphanage in Leeds.

Diana then went on to say, "Because of this, we have decided that it's time for your first mission of real importance. I need you to meet up with Brianna at the warehouse in Doncaster and assist her."

The girls had listened intently the entire time Diana had been speaking and as soon as she had finished, Karilyn stood up and said, "I don't know about the others, but I'm in. If I can be of help, I'm more than happy to contribute."

Riley nodded and stood up also, "Count me in."

Suzana did the same, "Me too."

Noelle bounced up to join the others, "Don't forget me!"

"Who am I to say no?" Said Lucy as she also sprung up.

The five girls and Diana then turned to look at Narcissa who was still sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed.

Narcissa frowned, "What are you looking at me for?"

The girls all raised their eyebrows at the girl who sighed whilst slowly getting to her feet, "Fine...I'm in as well."

Diana smiled at the girls, "Good good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now, the people you will be fighting are likely to be dangerous, so it's essential you keep your identities a secret."

"Why?" Noelle asked.

Karilyn responded before Diana could, "These people are more than likely to be mentally disturbed. If they knew who we are, they wouldn't need to look farther for a weakness than our families."

Suzana nodded, "It's a good point. But how do we conceal them?"

Diana replied, "Firstly, you can't be seen as yourselves..."

Before Diana could finish, the door opened and Astrid entered, holding a pile of clothes.

Diana grinned, "Excellent timing Astrid! Ladies, here are your suits."

Astrid proceeded to giving each of the girls one of the black Kevlar suits, with matching boots and gloves. They looked very similar to biking suits and by feel, were tough.

Diana explained, "These are just very simple suits that should keep you safe for now. However, when Jack has some more time, he shall be customizing them for your next mission."

Narcissa said bluntly, "If we get back from this one."

Astrid clipped the girl across the ear, "Honestly Narcissa, think positive. I'm sure you'll all do fine."

Narcissa nodded slowly, "Fine, sorry."

Diana then said, "And also, you can't use your real names. Instead, you shall use the following codenames. Riley, you'll be known as Magnitude."

Riley grinned, "Sounds good to me."

Diana continued, "Suzana, you'll be known as Ghost."

Suzana nodded with approval, before Diana said, "Noelle, your name will be Silvertongue."

Noelle smiled at the woman who turned to the next girl, "Narcissa, you will be Seizure."

Narcissa silently nodded before Diana spoke again, "Karilyn, you will be called Mirage."

Karilyn grinned, "Sounds good!"

Diana finished off, "And finally, Lucy will be known as Memoir."

Lucy nodded, "Understood."

Diana sat back down in her armchair, "Now, Magnitude, Ghost, Silvertongue, Seizure, Mirage and Memoir, suit up and prepare yourselves. Meet us at the garage in an hour. You need to get going before it gets too dark."

The six girls nodded and made their way towards the door. All but one had left when Diana called, "Memoir, do you have a moment?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders, "Sure."

Diana then asked, "This may be a little random, but do you know how to fly a helicopter?"

Lucy frowned, "I've never had any lessons. How come?"

Diana explained, "The van is on its way back from Leeds, but you need to get to Brianna as quickly as possible. The only other vehicle we have that can carry six, is a helicopter that Sanjit uses whenever he's at the academy. Do you reckon you can learn how to?"

Memoir grinned, "Fly it? Sure! I just need to see someone else and my power will take care of the rest."

Diana nodded before rummaging through a drawer in her desk and producing a DVD, "Good. Sanjit actually gave me this a while back. He wanted the rest of us to learn, but I never got round to it. It's a DVD that is like a beginners guide to flying a chopper. Will this do?"

Lucy laughed heartily, "Definitely!" before grabbing the disc and running out of the office. The door closed behind the girl.

Left in the office were Diana and Astrid, who stood quietly.

Astrid broke the silence by whispering, "They'll be alright, won't they Diana?"

Diana nodded and placed a friendly hand on the shoulder of the blonde woman, "Don't worry Astrid, they do fine. I'm sure it won't be too long before we see Sam again, as well."

Astrid sighed, "I hope your right Diana, because we'll need him if we're going to have a hope in hell of beating Drake."

Diana simply said in response, "Amen to that."

**********

After Daniel had seen Max, Lucy, Narcissa, Suzana, Noelle, Riley and Karilyn all walk off towards Diana's office; Daniel decided to head to the MU common room.

In the room, Daniel saw Andrew Castle sitting on one of the sofas, along with a boy that Daniel had never seen before.

Andrew glanced up and saw the boy, "Oh hey Daniel."

Daniel smiled back at the boy, "Hey Andrew. Who's this?"

Andrew replied, "Oh, of course. This is Christopher Fagan...he's new to IMA."

Christopher had short, spiky black hair and he was wearing the normal school uniform with the MU red tie.

He looked about 12 years old and was of average height for someone his age.

He shook Daniel's hand before speaking with a fairly thick Irish accent, "Nice to meet ya."

Daniel nodded, "Same here. I'm Daniel King by the way."

Christopher laughed, "I know. I've heard a lot about you from Andrew. The way you met was quite...shocking!"

Daniel grinned, "I guess you could say that. So, you know about my power Christopher. What's yours?"

The Irishman smiled and said, "Why don't I show you instead?"

He then held his hands, outstretched in front of him. Christopher suddenly balled his hands into fists, as if he was grabbing the air.

He then pulled his fists apart slowly, like he had begun to stretch the air.

Then, as his hands parted, a hole appeared in their wake. The edge of the hole was a dark green, but the middle was completely black.

As the hole appeared, Daniel jumped backwards out of surprise. He exclaimed, "What is that?"

Christopher explained, whilst exhaling heavily, "It's a portal. If you walk into it whilst thinking of a specific place, you should appear there."

Daniel gasped, "Seriously? Wow, that's a really interesting power."

Christopher nodded, "Obviously I think so too, but I'm still working on it. Only one person can go through the portal at a time currently, and creating them takes a lot of energy."

Daniel thought for a second before saying, "I just need to nip to my room, but I'll be back in a minute."

Andrew and Christopher shrugged their shoulders and Daniel walked out of the MU common room and up to his room.

As he came to his door, Daniel saw he was alone and he said to himself quietly, "Looks like I can get to Doncaster after all."

**Hey guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed reading that chapter as much as I did writing it! I'm really excited about this fanfic, so please tell any other people you can think of to read it, review it and even send in their OCs. As I said at the end of the last chapter, if I see some more OCs with some really cool but inventive powers, I will definitely still incorporate them into the story, even though its 12 chapters in!**

**I've got plenty of cool twists and turns for the story, so please keep on reading and letting me know what you think. So, as ever guys, feel free to review or PM me if you have anything to ask or tell me. As you probably know by now, I'm always happy to help if you just ask me!**


	14. Chapter 14

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the OCs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Thirteen

When Sam Temple awoke, it was pitch black. He went to raise his hand to feel his head, which was throbbing horrendously, which Sam assumed was thanks to the big boot of the Finnish brute Jussi Taipale who had punted him in the head outside an orphanage in Leeds.

However, Sam was unable to move his hands, no matter how hard he tried. Sam realized that his hands had been bound tightly behind his back.

Sam then tried to shout for help, but everything he said was muffled and forced to be quiet by the gag that Sam now realized was in his mouth.

Sam then tried his legs, but they too were tied tightly together, stopping the man from getting to his feet.

Sam now knew that his friends weren't able to save him and he'd obviously been taken by the mutants who had attacked them in Leeds.

Sam then tried to blast through his restraints by using his power, but nothing happened.

"Damn!" the man thought to himself, "That Jussi must still be here in the darkness."

Then, as if to confirm Sam's theory, lights were then turned on and the room that Sam was sit in became illuminated.

It was a huge open area with a high ceiling; at first glance Sam reckoned it may be about as big as a football field.

The floor was concrete and cold to the touch whilst the walls looked to be steel. There were some small glass windows dotted around the huge walls, but no light was entering through them.

Sam now knew it was nighttime and he was stuck in some sort of a warehouse, but Sam didn't know how long he had been unconscious. What he did know was that he was famished and thirsty, but he had been more so back in the old days in the FAYZ.

Then, the huge Fin appeared, standing over Sam.

"Look whose awake." he said calmly. "Don't worry, it won't be long before you and the others are off once more to meet an old friend of yours from your days in the FAYZ!"

Sam's face grew angry and pained, as Jussi grinned slightly and said, "Oh yes, Mr Merwin is simply chomping at the bit to see you again Sam."

Jussi turned away from Sam and laughed, "I'll be back in a bit Sam, so sit still now!"

As Sam thought to himself, "It's not like I have much choice!" Jussi walked across the warehouse and out of the large steel door, which closed behind him.

Something then occurred to Sam. Jussi had mentioned that there it wasn't just Sam; there were others who were in the same predicament.

Sam managed to shuffle his body in order to see the whole room. He found that apart from him, there were seven others bound and separated evenly around the room.

Sam realized that these must be the mutant children who had been kidnapped.

What he and the others had been kidnapped for, Sam didn't know. If Drake was involved, like Jussi had said, something horrible no doubt.

Sam though was powerless to do anything about it, and he hoped that someone else was now on their way to save him and the children. If not, things might not end well for Sam Temple, especially if Drake Merwin was the mastermind behind the kidnappings.

**********

It had been an hour since the girls had left Diana Ladris' office and went off in order to get prepared for their first real mission.

It was pitch-black by the time they had returned to the garage, but they were all suited up in the black Kevlar suits, gloves and boots. They were all also armed with their own weapons.

Lucy had her katana and its case slung over her shoulder. Noelle had two ornate daggers strapped to the waist of her suit. Narcissa had a pouch full of simple throwing knives also fastened to her hip, for easy access. On one side of her waist, Suzana had a tranquilizer rifle safely placed in its holster which was strapped over shoulder and on the other side were compartments of ammunition. On Karilyn's hip was a magnum with plenty of spare ammunition. Riley meanwhile had a large and powerful, yet lightweight hammer fastened tightly to her back.

Diana smiled when she saw the six girls, kitted out and armed. She almost felt a sense of pride at seeing the girls all grown up and ready for a serious mission. Despite the obvious dangers, Diana knew they were ready.

She led the six girls up to the roof of the garage, where there was a helipad. On it was Sanjit's helicopter. Diana wished the girls luck before Lucy clambered into the pilot's seat and the other five girls got into the back where there were two sofas that faced each other.

Lucy prepared the helicopter, did the pre-flight checks and before the long, the party were ready to set off.

Before they left, Diana shouted over the whir of the rotors into the pilot's window, "Lucy, try and land the chopper on the roof of a building near the warehouse. The co-ordinates are already in the navigation system, so just follow it and you'll be in Doncaster in no time. Oh, please try and bring the chopper back in one piece, or I'll never hear the end of it from Sanjit!"

Lucy nodded and laughed, "I'll try Diana." Then, Lucy's powers seemed to pay off as the helicopter took to the air smoothly before flying off towards Doncaster.

Diana sighed and descended from the roof of the garage.

On the way back to the main academy building, two figures came running towards the woman.

Diana exclaimed, "Andrew? Christopher? What are you doing here?"

Andrew, between breaths, said, "It's Daniel."

Diana, unsure what to expect, said calmly, "What's happened to Daniel?"

Christopher squirmed before saying with his Irish lilt, "He's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" shouted Diana who had now lost her cool.

Christopher explained, "He said that he needed me to open a portal because he needed to reach someone in danger. I panicked and did what he asked, but he left before either Andrew or I could ask who needed saving."

Diana sighed, "It's Sam."

Andrew frowned, "Sam? As in the headmaster?"

Diana slowly nodded, "The very same."

She then said, "Thank you boys, you've done nothing wrong. You can go back to the dorms and leave me to sort it all out."

The boys nodded and Christopher and Andrew made their way back inside.

Diana said to herself after the boys were out of earshot, "Damn that boy, why does he have to get involved?"

But, the woman sighed and answered her own question, "I know he's only trying to help Sam, but he's just going to get hurt. But, there's nothing I can do now. I can only hope he can look after himself now."

Diana then began to walk slowly back to the academy. On the way, she said to herself, "If being a teacher's always this hard, then I don't think I ever gave mine enough respect!"

**********

Traveling by portal was completely new to Daniel. In his eyes, that probably why he landed face first on the pavement.

Daniel groaned as he composed himself and pulled himself to his feet.

He felt bad at using Christopher's power, but if there was one thing that Daniel hated more than anything, it was feeling useless.

Daniel was wearing a pair of black jeans, a red t-shirt and a thick black hoodie. He also had white trainers and he was carrying his bow and quiver full of arrows over his shoulders.

He brushed himself off and took in his surroundings. He had landed in some sort of housing estate, but in the distance, Daniel caught sight of some factories.

He thought to himself, "Factories? There must be an industrial estate beyond these houses. That's where I'll probably find the warehouse."

With that, Daniel put his hood over his head and walked into the night.

**Hey guys and girls! I hope you enjoyed that relatively short chapter, but I really think it wets the appetite for the next chapter which will deal with the Doncaster Mission, which I am really looking forward to writing!**

**But still, I am more than happy to hear any OCs you guys have got for me. Especially those with some really inventive and cool powers please feel free to PM me with them or include them in a review. So, as ever guys, feel free to review or PM me if you have anything to ask or tell me. As you probably know by now, I'm always happy to help if you just ask me!**


	15. Chapter 15

**IMA and a few of the characters and all of the ideas are mine, but obviously the OCs are your guys (the readers) creations and some of the characters are Michael Grant's!**

IMA: Chapter Fourteen

It had taken just under an hour before Lucy and the girls came in sight of an industrial estate. Over the intercom, Lucy said, "We're at the co-ordinates that Diana gave us. Is everyone ready for landing?"

The girls nodded and Riley said, "Sure, we're ready Memoir."

Lucy then replied, "Okay then Magnitude, I'll bring the helicopter down on a nearby rooftop and we'll take it from there."

The girls all held their breaths apart from Narcissa who sat there seemingly uninterested as they felt Lucy start to slowly bring the chopper down.

Then, there was a loud clunk, before all movement ceased and the sound of the rotors disappeared.

Lucy hopped out of the pilot's seat and opened the big sliding door that separated the main cabin from the outside. She grinned at the girls and said, "Let's go."

All of the girls jumped out of the helicopter and Memoir slammed the sliding door shut behind them.

The girls approached the edge of the building that Memoir had chosen to land Sanjit's chopper and looked out onto the industrial estate from their high vantage point.

Ghost said, "At least we know we're in the right place."

Mirage pointed across the street, "Over there guys, there's a warehouse with the lights still on. There must be something going on there, because it's way too late for them to be running normally."

Seizure nodded, "Agreed. Do we check it out then?"

Ghost smiled, "Allow me. I'll scout the building and meet you downstairs in a minute.""

The other girls nodded and ran to a door at the corner of the building which presumably led to a staircase that would bring them to the street level.

Ghost though stared at the warehouse and said, "Guess its time to go ghost then."

Her body disappeared in a puff of smoke which floated from the building that she had been standing and towards the lit warehouse across the street.

The wisp of smoke traveled through the large steel door of the warehouse and still in her ghostly form, Suzana took in her surroundings.

There were two floors to the warehouse.

On the bottom floor there was one huge room which was illuminated by large lamps in the ceilings. There were several crates in the room and there was also a forklift truck that was currently parked against a wall. But of most interest to Ghost, were the eight people who sitting on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet tied together, and one of the prisoners was clearly Sam Temple.

Knowing that she was indeed in the correct building, Ghost decided that there would be no harm in scouting around upstairs, as she was slightly confused that it looked at first glance that no one was guarding Sam or the others.

Ghost traveled straight up through the ceiling and into the second floor.

At first sight, the second floor looked like a collection of open planned offices, with computers lying dormant on every desk. But then, Ghost noticed that at the far end of the floor was one closed off office with its own walls and a door, which was closed shut.

From under the door, Ghost could see a dim light, probably coming from some sort of lamp in the office. "That's where the guard is!" Ghost thought to herself.

Her wispy form got closer to the office in order to see who was occupying it, but as soon she floated through the plain wooden door, Ghost saw exactly who was watching Sam and the others.

It was the big Fin who Diana had mentioned, Jussi Taipale. Instantly, the huge mutant's power began to have its effect on Ghost.

She had barely entered the room, yet she could feel that due to Jussi's power, she had to work very hard to stop herself from changing back into her normal body.

Before she did and Jussi noticed her, Ghost sped out of the room and towards the other girls, in order to tell them just what she had seen in the warehouse.

**********

The Breeze had seen and heard Sanjit's chopper coming in from a mile away, thanks to Ross Conners' power.

She had correctly guessed that on board was the group of female mutants from the academy that she had sent for.

After watching Suzana Gale turn into her ghost form and travel across the road to the warehouse that Brianna had been staking out, the Breeze sped over to the bottom of the building that the chopper had landed on and waited for the others.

When they had descended down the stairs and exited the building, the girls saw Brianna standing there and Silvertongue exclaimed, "Brianna!"

Brianna then greeted the girls before she told them what she had learned from the stakeout.

The girls then explained to Breeze that Diana had assigned them codenames in order to protect their identities from Drake Merwin.

Brianna took these in before saying, "Now, have you girls got a plan?"

Before Seizure could reply, Ghost re-appeared beside the group, panting heavily.

After greeting Brianna, Suzana confirmed everything that the Breeze had told the girls.

When Ghost had described her close run in with the huge man Jussi, Magnitude said, "We need to take him out before we can help Sam and the other mutants then."

Mirage shrugged, "I don't know about that Magnitude. If I get close enough, I can fire this tranquilizer rifle which should knock him out, but some of us can start to help the others at the same time!"

Breeze nodded, "I agree. The quicker we get in, out and back to Manchester, the better."

Magnitude then suggested, "So how about Mirage, myself and Ghost deal with Jussi, whilst you, Silvertongue, Memoir and Seizure free the others?"

The Breeze shrugged, "Sounds good to me. She turned to Mirage, Magnitude and Ghost before saying, "Stay safe guys, okay?"

Magnitude grinned, "Aren't we always?" before she led the other two into the warehouse.

Breeze looked at the others and asked, "Are you guys ready?"

They all nodded firmly and Breeze smiled, "Well let's be quick then!" before she and the others followed Magnitude, Mirage and Ghost into the warehouse.

**********

Instantly, the three girls broke into a stealthy sprint as they moved towards the staircase.

The girls ascended it, whilst being careful to make a minimal amount of noise.

When they reached the top, they saw the open offices that both Breeze and Ghost had described.

Also, at the end of the corridor was the manager's office. The door to this office was indeed closed but a faint light could be seen coming from the small crack at the bottom of the wooden door.

Magnitude then signaled for Mirage to stand on the right side of the door as she looked at it and Ghost on the left side before joining Mirage on the right side of the office door.

Magnitude then stepped heavily on the floor. This, combined with a small amount of her power caused the ground to shake a little.

She hoped that this would draw the man out of the office, but after waiting for a minute, nothing happened.

Magnitude then did it again, a little louder this time, but still the Fin didn't emerge.

Then, when Magnitude went to do it a third time, nothing happened.

She frowned, but it was too late before she could notice the reason.

A hand suddenly came crashing through the wooden paneling that was next to the door and grabbed Magnitude by the neck.

As she was lifted from her feet, and her long, wavy brown hair hung down as she struggled to breathe.

Mirage didn't hesitate to act as the whole of Jussi Taipale came crashing threw the wooden paneling, whilst Magnitude remained in his beastly grip.

She grabbed her magnum from her side holster and clubbed the man's head with the gun.

This was enough for Magnitude to be able to wriggle free and she dropped to the floor, at Jussi's feet.

Ghost grabbed the girl and dragged her away from the huge Fin, a couple of meters away from him.

Mirage holstered her magnum and backed off slowly in order to join the girls.

Jussi roared as he raised his head to the side of his head which was now bleeding because of the force that Mirage's magnum had hit him with, "Did you really think you could sneak up on me?"

He pointed at the ceiling in the corner of the open planned offices were there was a black sphere.

Ghost swore before saying, "CCTV. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

Then, almost as if she wanted to rectify her mistake, Ghost reached over her shoulder for her tranquilizer rifle, before noticing it was gone.

Then, all three girls realized at the same time that the tranquilizer rifle had fallen off as Ghost had dragged Magnitude to safety and was now next to the man's foot.

Jussi stamped down hard on the trigger of the rifle, snapping it off cleanly.

He then kicked the rifle far to the side before facing the girls once more.

Magnitude took a step forward then, before unsheathing her silver hammer that was decorated with white lines and taking up a battle stance.

She said forcefully, "I'll hold him off. Get downstairs and warn the others."

Mirage and Ghost weren't about to argue, so they turned on the spot and sprinted towards the staircase.

Magnitude now grinned as she twirled the surprisingly lightweight yet tough hammer skillfully in her hands.

Then, she stopped showing off, pointed the weapon at the huge Fin and laughed, "Guess it's just me and you now big guy!"

Jussi simply grunted before taking raising his hands and taking a step forward toward the mutant girl.

**********

After watching the three girls head up the stairs, Breeze and the others surveyed the warehouse floor for people.

There were seven teenagers and one adult sitting on the floor, evenly spread out with their hands and legs bound and their mouths bound.

Instantly, the Breeze made her way, past some crates and towards Sam Temple. She tore the bounds and took the gag out of his mouth.

Sam breathed a heavy sigh of relief before embracing the woman, "Brianna! Wow, am I glad to see you."

Brianna laughed, "You too Sam, you too."

Sam took a step back and looked at the girls fully suited up, "And you guys look good too!"

All the girls smiled at the man before Seizure said, "Now that we've pleasantries, shouldn't we help the others?"

Sam nodded, "Of course."

Seizure approached the closest person to her and freed him.

When he stood up, they could all see he stood just over six foot. He had neat, short blond hair and was very muscular in build. He was wearing a white tank top and ripped khaki trousers with matching trainers.

The boy said gratefully with a thick German accent, "Thank you very much for saving me. I'm Niklas Holtzmann from Munich, Germany."

He then grabbed Seizure hand and shook it, "And you are?"

The girl blushed slightly before saying, "You can call me Seizure."

Memoir then approached the closest teenager to her and set her free.

The girl was African and had short black hair which was tied in a bunch. She was fairly short and thin. She was wearing ripped denim shorts and a floral top.

The girl bowed respectfully, "I am very grateful for all your help. Your name?"

The girl smiled kindly, "I'm Memoir. And yourself?"

The African teenager replied, "I am Mawusi Nkruma and I am pleased to have made your acquaintance, Miss Memoir."

Silvertongue then freed the closest prisoner to her.

He was an incredibly handsome boy, with a fairly thin frame. He had short, spiky black hair and was wearing a green and red polo shirt with worn beige chinos and smart brown shoes that were now scuffed.

The teenage boy kissed Silvertongue on the both cheeks, "Grazie, signorina..."

The girl smiled in a shy manner at the Italian boy, "Oh, Italian, cute! I'm Silvertongue, and you?"

In a thick Italian accent, the boy said, "I am Ciro. Ciro Palermo, of Firenze."

Seizure had now walked away from Niklas and was helping up another boy.

He had blue almond eyes, red hair with black tips and pinkish skin. He was average height and he was slightly fatter than any of the other teenagers. He was wearing a hoodie that read "I'M CRAZY!" Underneath the hoodie was a plain sweatshirt. As well, he wore blue jeans, and bright colored sneakers.

In a distinct American accent, the boy said, "Thanks for the save. Name's Bae Sparrow."

Memoir then freed the next boy. He was of average height and had messy, curly black hair. He had very pale skin and stubble peppering his chin. He was fairly slim as well.

The teenage boy was wearing a plain green t-shirt underneath a torn leather jacket. He had black trousers and matching trainers.

With an Irish lilt in his voice the boy said, "Cheers. Things weren't looking to great until you guys came. I'm Mac McCarin, from County Kerry in Ireland."

By this point, Silvertongue had managed to pull herself away from the charming Ciro Palermo and towards another prisoner.

She freed a smaller girl who appeared to be younger than any of the other mutants they were rescuing.

She was very pretty and had a childish face with long flowing blonde hair. She was wearing a simple pink top with a vibrant yellow skirt. She had matching tights and black slip-on shoes.

The smaller girl hugged the older girl and said with a hint of a French accent, "Merci beaucoup! I was so very worried."

Silvertongue hugged the girl back, "Don't worry sweetie, you're safe now. What's your name?"

The girl replied after stepping back, "Constance Renée. I was brought from Paris."

Finally, Sam and Brianna helped the last bound mutant.

After he got to his feet, the two adults saw the boy was tall, about six foot four. He was very muscular and was wearing a black suit, white shirt, matching black trousers, black shoes and a red and black tie.

In perfect english but with a Dutch accent, the boy said, "Thank you very much for saving us. My name is Bart Engelen and I am from Amsterdam in Holland."

The Breeze smiled, "Your welcome Bart. But, what are you wearing?"

Bart looked down and replied, "Oh, this is my school uniform."

The Breeze gasped, "They took you when you were at school?"

Bart nodded, "Yes, when I was on my lunch break."

Sam strode forward and smiled kindly at all seven of the rescued teenager, "Well don't worry, you're all safe now. We will take you to our academy nearby, built especially for young mutants. We will look after you and assess your powers. If you wish to stay after that, then we will be more than happy to find you a room."

All of the teenagers smiled at the man, relieved that their ordeal was over.

Or so they thought.

Instantly, Mirage and Ghost panted as they sprinted out of the staircase and onto the warehouse floor.

Ghost exclaimed, "You've got them all free? Good, we need to be quick."

Silvertongue frowned, "Why? What's the matter?"

Mirage sighed, "We had some problems upstairs. He saw us coming and broke the tranquilizer rifle."

Seizure asked, "Where's Magnitude?"

Then, suddenly, they all heard a creak over their heads before a body came crashing through the ceiling, with a hammer falling behind it.

Sam and Brianna stood and stared, but Ciro reacted instantly.

He thrust out his hand in the direction of the falling girl and clenched his fist.

A ball of pure air appeared underneath the falling Magnitude.

Just as she was about to hit the floor violently, it expanded and acted like a crash mat. Magnitude landed on the air safely, before falling a short distance to the floor and landing face first after it had evaporated, but yet she was still unharmed.

Then, Niklas saw the hammer was still falling and closed his eyes.

Underneath the hammer, an exact copy of the German teenager appeared, just in time to catch it.

The clone handed the hammer to the girl, who was now lying on her back. Magnitude stuttered, surprised at what she had just witnessed, "Uh, thanks."

The clone shrugged and said in a thick German accent, "It was nothing." before vanishing into thin air.

Sam, Brianna, Silvertongue, Seizure, Memoir, Mirage and Ghost all looked amazed at what had just happened, before Sam broke the silence, "Those are two very interesting powers, but I think we should focus on Jussi Taipale for now."

Magnitude nodded as she got to her feet and twirled her hammer, "Yeah, that guy really is freakishly strong."

Suddenly, a man roared from the hole in the ceiling and jumped down it.

Magnitude dived out of the way and all of the others ran into a group and backed away from the huge Fin who landed the seemingly ten foot drop easily.

He stared at the group of thirteen teens and two adults and snarled like an animal.

Seizure growled back and said angrily, "This guy needs to learn some manners."

Knowing powers wouldn't work, Seizure, Ghost, Memoir, Magnitude and Silvertongue all stepped forward and unsheathed their weapons.

But before anyone could charge in, a large hissing noise could be heard in the wall directly behind Jussi.

Suddenly, a large square in the wall turned a deep purple colour before completely eroding away.

Through the gap in the wall stepped the familiar figure of Maria Lowry, Jussi's companion from the orphanage in Leeds.

However, next to Maria was a person that none of the shocked members of IMA had ever seen before.

It was a teenage boy, standing at around six feet. He was dressed in a suit made up of some kind of silver metal that was split into segments that seemed to allow for movement, as well as protection. He also had boots and gauntlets made of the same material as the rest of the armor, but the gauntlets had a precisely cut hole in each of the palms.

In the center of the boy's body armor was a glass sphere that was the same deep purple colour that the segment of wall had turned before it had eroded away.

The boy's face was pale and he had a buzz cut. In addition to his thin, protective yet mobile suit of armor, there was a circular shield strapped to his back.

It was made out of the same material as the armor, with a similar deep purple colour globe in the center.

The boy and Maria walked forward and stopped either side of the huge Fin.

The armored boy said simply, "So, did you really think you could stop us so easily?"

Seizure frowned, "Who are you then?"

The boy replied bluntly, "I'm Duncan Meadows, but you can call me Acrid."

The boy laughed sadistically as he outstretched his left arm and pointed it towards a nearby crate.

Suddenly, a jet of purple coloured sludge erupted out of the hole in the gauntlet of Acrid's left hand and landed on the crate.

A hissing noise could be heard again as the crate dissolved rapidly due to the acidic sludge.

Acrid stopped firing the acid and said, "Did you really think that Drake would be defeated without a fight Sam?"

Sam shook his head, "No, I didn't. However, I am surprised that he sent a little kid to do his dirty work for him."

Acrid took a step forward, held both of his arms out towards the IMA students and roared, "I am not a kid!"

But, before he could fire his dangerous sludge at the group, there was a flash of lightning and all the lights in the warehouse went out, leaving everyone in darkness.

Subsequently, there were two sounds of shattering glass followed by two pained shouts.

Suddenly, the lights in the warehouse came back on and the IMA group saw that Duncan Meadows was now standing alone as both Maria and Jussi were now lying on the floor with a blue tinted arrow stuck to their body.

Acrid stuttered, "Uh, what's going on here?"

He stared directly at Sam Temple and hissed, "What have you done?"

Sam grinned, knowing what the arrows meant, "Me? I've done nothing..."

Then, through the same window that the arrows had entered through, a figure dived into the warehouse dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie with the hood up. He also had a black bow and a quiver of arrows over his shoulder.

He landed safely and stood up. He strode over to the IMA group and stood in front of all of them, before facing Duncan.

"But him...that's a whole different story." Sam continued to say with a big grin on his face.

Acrid snarled at the hooded figure, "Who are you then?"

The figure put his hands to his head and took down his hood whilst saying, "I'm Daniel King, and I have no intention of letting you harm any of these mutants."

Duncan sniggered, "Oh, look at mister high and mighty! Well, you might want to know that I won't be so easy to stop."

Daniel asked, "Why's that Acrid?"

Duncan grinned, "I was trained by Drake Merwin himself."

Daniel stared at the armored boy, "Well let's see if that makes a difference."

Daniel turned to the others and said, "Quick, get back to the helicopter. I'll deal with this guy."

Sam nodded and ushered the group out of the warehouse, whilst Daniel King and Duncan Meadows faced off.

The impatient Acrid attacked first, sending some of the purple sludge in Daniel's direction.

The teenager rolled out of harm's way and sent back a shock of his own.

Daniel's lightning was too quick for Duncan to avoid and it struck him square on the chest.

However, Daniel's attack disappeared without leaving even a scratch on Acrid's armor.

The boy laughed, "Is that all you've got?"

Daniel shook his head, "Far from it."

He clenched his right fist and drew it back behind his head. When he released it forward in a throwing action, a condensed ball of electrical energy landed at Duncan's feet.

Acrid however was ready for this. He put his right hand on his back and grabbed the circular shield from his back.

With his left hand, he then a line of the toxic sludge directly sideways from his current position. Yet, this sludge didn't dissolve the floor away. Instead, it hung around like a purple pathway.

Acrid then skimmed the shield on top of the sludge before jumping on the shield and riding away from the electric grenade, that detonated after he was at the end of the purple path.

Then, Acrid jumped off the unharmed shield before flicking it up into his arms.

"My turn." he hissed.

He threw the shield at Daniel before sprinting straight at him.

Daniel ducked out of the way and the shield missed his head by no more than an inch.

Acrid was soon upon Daniel, but before he was about to tackle him to the floor, Acrid stopped running about one step away from the IMA teenager.

He stood still, which confused Daniel. But then, Duncan clearly winked at him before Daniel was brought to his knees as the shield he had previously dodged came back round and struck him square in the back.

Acrid was standing over Daniel and he punted him in the stomach which caused Daniel to roll over and lie on his back, gasping for air.

Acrid walked slowly over to his shield and returned it to its original position on the back of his armored suit.

He then stood over the downed boy and said with real venom, "This will teach you to not mess with our business, Daniel King."

He stuck out his left gauntlet and sent a jet of the deep purple sludge straight at Daniel's right arm.

There was a large hissing noise mixed with a painful scream from Daniel as his arm was slowly eroded away by the sadistic Acrid's mutant power.

**********

Brianna and Sam were helping Niklas, Mawusi, Ciro, Constance, Mac, Bart, Bae, Seizure, Magnitude, Ghost, Silvertongue and Mirage into Sanjit's chopper and Memoir got into the pilot's seat whilst Daniel was fighting Acrid.

They had been waiting for a while before Silvertongue said, "Daniel's taking a while. Are you sure he's alright in then by himself?"

Magnitude replied, "This is Daniel we're talking about guys, I'm sure he's..."

She was however interrupted by Brianna who gasped, "Oh my god, Daniel!"

Sam put a hand on her shoulder, "What's the matter Brianna? What happened?"

Brianna murmured, "In the warehouse, I heard Daniel scream. He's in trouble Sam."

Instantly, Ghost and Magnitude jumped out of the helicopter and ran towards the edge of the rooftop.

Seizure exclaimed, "What are you two doing?"

Both girls said in unison, "Saving Daniel."

Then they both threw themselves off the rooftop.

Before she hit the ground, Ghost turned into her wispy form before changing back, therefore landing the jump without injuring herself.

Magnitude though hit the ground normally and the waves she emitted from doing so saved her from becoming hurt.

The pair then sprinted back into the warehouse across the road.

When they re-entered, they saw that Daniel's arm had been completely destroyed by the acid and was now missing.

Instantly, Magnitude cried, "Daniel!" before clapping her hands together.

The shockwaves hit Acrid and knocked him off balance.

Acrid then steadied himself before grabbing his shield and throwing it at the girl.

Magnitude unsheathed her hammer from her back and struck Acrid's shield, sending it off target and into a nearby crate.

Just as she was about to jump in and help Magnitude take on Acrid, Ghost saw out of the corner of her eye that although Maria Lowry was still unconscious, Jussi Taipale was beginning to wake up from the effects of one of Daniel's blue arrows.

The teenage girl thought to herself, "I've had enough of you; I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

She glanced around and saw the nearby forklift.

She ran over, but found that there was no key in the ignition.

She sighed and said to herself, "Let's see if this will work."

Ghost then closed her eyes and allowed herself to change into a wispy smoke.

She floated into the forklift and willed the engine to start. Sure enough, it purred into life.

Just as Jussi, still dazed, had got to his feet, he turned around and saw a forklift coming straight at him.

He could do nothing as the two sharp forks on the end of the phantom vehicle went straight through his stomach and all the way out of his back.

Jussi didn't have time to shout in pain, as the life passed out of him quickly. The forklift kept driving until it hit the far wall of the warehouse, with Jussi's back hitting the wall first.

When Ghost abandoned the vehicle, she appeared in the driver's seat, with the huge Fin's lifeless eyes staring straight at her.

Ghost shivered, knowing she'll never forget that image, but also knowing that killing Jussi Taipale was for everyone's sake.

Meanwhile, Magnitude was trying to hit Acrid with her hammer whilst trying to avoid his acidic sludge; however this was harder than she thought it would be.

She was tiring from dodging the deep purple sludge that Duncan was firing from his gauntlets and the dangerous sludge was getting ever closer to touching her.

But then, a voice called out from behind Acrid, "Hey, Duncan!"

Although he had been trained by Drake, Acrid was still a kid and he wheeled on the spot, "What?"

What he saw was Ghost grinning at him, "Did Drake never tell you not to turn your back in the middle of a battle?"

That was the last thing Duncan Meadows saw that night at a hammer subsequently smashed him over his exposed head from behind. It wasn't long before he dropped to the ground unconscious, lying in a pool of his own blood.

Magnitude then lifted the hammer over her head, ready to finish Acrid off until Ghost shouted, "No, stop it Magnitude! Leave Maria and him, we've got to get out of here now, in case Drake himself turns up."

Magnitude lowered her weapon and sighed, "Fine, but what about Jussi?"

She didn't need Ghost to answer as she saw for herself that he was now pinned to the wall by the razor sharp spikes of the forklift.

She shivered as well, before the pair sprinted over to Daniel, who still lying on the floor.

They knelt down by his side and Ghost said, "Daniel, are you okay?"

Daniel managed a smirk and whispered, "What do you think Suzana?"

Ghost smiled back, "Sorry, stupid question. Don't worry though; we're going to get you out of here now."

Daniel asked in a hushed voice, "What about my arm?"

Magnitude replied, "Don't worry about that Sparky, Lana will fix you up when we get back to IMA. But for that to happen, we need to get you to the chopper."

Daniel nodded weakly and the girls went to pick him up, but struggled.

Magnitude frowned, "For a guy with just one arm, you're still pretty heavy Sparky!"

Daniel grimaced and Ghost sighed at the girl's remark.

Magnitude held her hand up, "Sorry, still probably a little too early for jokes."

She then turned to Ghost, "But honestly, how are we going to get him to the helicopter?"

Suddenly, Niklas Holtzmann appeared next to Daniel, which made Ghost and Magnitude jump.

The boy apologized, "Sorry to scare you ladies, but can I be of assistance in taking Daniel to the helicopter?"

Ghost frowned, "How did you know we were struggling?"

The German boy explained, "The lady called Brianna heard everything. She told me to send a copy of myself to help you, so here I am."

Magnitude asked, "Is there any chance there could be more of you?"

The boy nodded, "No problem." In a matter of seconds, four more copies of Niklas appeared.

The five clones then picked up the injured boy and one said, "Let's go."

They proceeded to rush out of the warehouse, with the girls close behind them, across the street and up to the rooftop, leaving the dead Jussi, unconscious Maria and injured Duncan behind them.

The Germans lifted Daniel carefully into the helicopter, after they reached it, before they all disappeared apart from the original.

The others greeted Magnitude and Ghost, but were all deeply concerned for Daniel.

Ghost and Magnitude quickly informed Sam and Brianna about what really happened to them, Jussi, Maria and Acrid in the warehouse.

However, when they had all finished, they clambered aboard. But there was little room for any of them to move as the passenger section was so full.

Sam closed the door and shouted through to the pilot, "Quick Lucy, get us out of here."

Lucy shouted back, "I'm trying, but we're too heavy to take off. We have to lose some weight."

Sam glanced around him and saw people panicked about the situation they found themselves in.

Yet, a voice cried, "Wait, there is no need to panic. I have a plan."

The voice had come from Bart Engelen, the Dutch boy. Seizure raised her eyebrows, "Alright then, what do you think we should do?"

Bart said, "Everyone grab a hold of me."

Everyone was confused by the boy's notion, but Sam shrugged before saying, "No harm in giving it a go."

Everyone did as Sam told them to and they all managed to grab a little bit of the Dutch teenager.

Bart closed his eyes before suddenly; the chopper took off from the ground.

Lucy shouted over the whir of the rotors, "Whatever you've done back there is working!"

Sam grinned, "That's great news. Take us back to IMA as quickly as possible Lucy."

The pilot nodded, "Will do boss!"

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after they heard this and Brianna turned to Bart Engelen, "So Bart, what did you do exactly?"

Bart explained calmly, "I used my power. I am able to change the density of any object, so I simply made us lighter which allowed the helicopter to fly."

Silvertongue smiled at the boy, "Well good thinking Bart, at least we're finally on our way home now."

As the group prepared for the flight back to the academy in the dead of night, Sam though to himself, "I'm glad Daniel came when he did, but I just hope Lana can help him. And did we do the right thing by leaving Maria and Acrid in the warehouse?"

Sam hoped that their decisions wouldn't come back to hurt IMA further on in the future, but for now, he decided he ought to focus on getting back to Manchester and getting out of Doncaster as soon as possible.

**Hey guys and girls! I hope you enjoyed reading that extra long chapter as much as I did writing it! I would love to hear your views on this chapter and the rest of the story, as always, so feel free to PM me or review the chapter!**

**Also, I am still interested in any OCs you guys have to offer, especially those with some really creative powers. The same applies here as before, feel free to review or PM me if you have anything to ask or tell me. As you probably know by now, I'm always happy to help if you just ask me!**


	16. Chapter 16

**The idea behind the International Mutant Academy (IMA), the plot, and some of the characters are mine. The rest are a combination of OCs from my faithful readers, and from the man himself, Michael Grant. **

**IMA, Chapter 15:**

"What the hell do you mean Lana? Why won't you heal Daniel's arm?" Sam Temple roared as his fists were hit hard on the table in front of him.

They were both sitting in the large conference room at IMA at this time. The room was filled by a long, rectangular glass table with many matching glass chairs surrounding it.

Sam was sat at one head of the table and Lana was sat at another chair, further down the table. Also present at the meeting, were: Astrid, Caine, Diana, Dekka, Edilio, Brianna, Jack, Orc, Bug, Taylor, Toto, Dahra and Albert Hillsborough.

The other chairs were designated for the other adults who had experienced the FAYZ, over 25 years ago, but they were all currently working in different ways for IMA, abroad.

Sam had cancelled all lessons and evening activities, after returning from Doncaster, for the next day and he called an emergency meeting.

Caine rolled his eyes and said, "Oh come on Sam, don't be so stupid. Don't you remember the last time that Lana tried to remake an arm?"

Sam sighed as he shrunk back into his chair and then nodded slowly, "Yeah...how could I forget." He turned to Lana and held his hand up in apology, "I'm sorry Lana; I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just my fault that Daniel lost his arm to Drake's psychopath sidekick."

Jack then spoke up, "We all feel bad for Daniel, but as much as I'd like to help him, we all know that Lana's power is more effective at healing wounds, not recreating limbs."

Then Orc murmured, "What about that Mantle girl, can't she reverse the damage? I thought that was her power."

Dekka replied, "She's not experienced enough for something like that, it would be irresponsible to let her try."

Sam spoke up once more, "But there must be another mutant someone, one with a power which specialises in regrowing limbs."

Caine now sighed, "Honestly Sam, you reckon a mutant with that sort of power would have escaped our notice? Not a chance. If anyone had such a power, they'd either be here or we'd at least know about them."

Sam looked to Taylor with slight hope; after all, she was the biggest gossip in the entire academy. If anyone knew something, she would!

But Taylor didn't even bother to open her mouth. She simply glanced at Sam and shook her head solemnly. Sam once again had to admit defeat. He knew that Caine was speaking complete sense, yet this didn't mean he had to like hearing it.

Sam though, suddenly had an idea. His eyes lit up as he turned slowly to Astrid. However, before he could even open his mouth, the blond woman glared at him, "No Sam, he's far too unstable. He could try to recreate Daniel's arm and end up making the other one disappear!"

Sam pouted, "But Pete..."

But he was interrupted once again by the blond lady, "No Sam...just don't even mention it."

While Sam sulked slightly, with his 'brilliant' idea rejected, it was now Albert's turn to speak. He coughed, which drew everyone's attention to him, before he said, "I'm sorry to say this, and I know you all think of this Daniel boy highly, but there are more important issues here. I've not just flown out here to ignore the threat of...him."

Edilio nodded as he muttered, "Drake...that vermin."

Diana looked at Albert and said, "The reason we look at Daniel so highly, Albert, is because he's important."

"For what Diana? More important than looking for that psychopath?"

Diana shook her head, "No Albert, he's not more important, but he is just as important. I have a feeling that when push comes to shove and the day arrives, it won't be any of us fighting Drake and whatever he's got planned."

Albert listened to Diana and shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I won't argue with you there. So, continue to try and find a way to help this boy by all means Sam, but right now, can we all agree to focus on Drake?"

Sam smiled, "Thank you Albert, and we will, don't worry." The boy then turned to Taylor and said, "Taylor, you need to tell Quinn and the others about what happened and get them to devote all their time to finding where Drake is and what he's planning."

"Roger." Taylor said and disappeared into thin air.

Sam then turned to the wealthy businessman and said, "Albert, can I trust you to use your influence to keep everything that happened at that warehouse in Doncaster away from the media?"

Albert got up and said, "I'll put a word in before I leave for California." before walking out of the conference room door at a brisk pace.

It was now Sam's turn to stand up as he declared, "The academy will return to normal tomorrow, and this must all be kept quiet from the other students, after all, the last thing we want is panic."

He turned to leave but before he left the room, Lana asked, "So where are you going then?"

Sam replied, "I'm going away for a while to find a mutant to help Daniel."

Jack shook his head, "Oh no, that's out of the question Sam. We need you here!"

Sam smiled, "No you don't, and anyway, I'll be back soon. Astrid will run things whilst I'm gone and Diana will see to the kids we rescued in Doncaster. If they want to stay, find them a room and let them. If I know Drake, we may need all the useful mutants we can get."'

He took another step towards the door, but he was now stopped by the sound of Dahra's voice, "Okay then Sam, leave. We all understand why. But, what do you want me to tell Daniel?"

Sam briefly looked over his shoulder at the academy's medical professional as he said, "Just look after him Dahra. Don't let him do anything stupid until I get back, understood?"

Dahra nodded before Sam walked out of the room. When the door had shut after him, an awkward silence lingered in the room until Brianna stood up smiled, "Well, that was interesting."

Diana shook her head in disbelief, "Can't he see who stubborn he's being by going off on his own. What good will that do?"

Jack sighed, "None. We'll only waste what little time we've got to prepare for Drake's inevitable revenge plan."

Caine nodded, "Agreed, but there's no point arguing with Sam when he's like this. We just have to carry on like he asked and hope that he gets back before old Whip Hand makes his move."

The whole group nodded and all made their way out of the room, knowing that they could only sit and wait until Sam either found what he was looking for or until he stopped trying.

* * *

><p>After leaving the meeting, Sam knew exactly where he needed to go.<p>

He instantly made his way to the medical wing, where lying awake on one of the beds, was Brandon. He had actually been part of the team that attempted to kidnap the mutant twins, Ross and Beth Conners, from the orphanage in Leeds, but he had ended up cooperating with Brianna and the others.

He smiled when he saw Sam enter, and he then said, "Well, I'm glad they managed to save you Mr Temple. I'm sorry about before."

Sam shook his head, "There's no need to be, there's no hard feelings. However, I do have a favour to ask of you."

Brandon frowned, "And that would be?"

Sam perched himself on the side of the bed and said quietly, "Information."

Brandon nodded, almost signalling to Sam to continue, so he did, "I need to find a mutant that can regrow limbs. Fast."

"Regrow limbs?" Brandon exclaimed. "That's a very...specific request."

Sam wasted no time in saying, "So, can you help me?"

Brandon sighed as he said, "Well, I only know of five named mutants that don't belong to this academy, and none of them have a power like that. However, there was a rumour going around..."

"Yes..." Sam said, his excitement clearly building.

"That there was a mutant child in Moscow, with a power to that description. However, no one could track her down, so you will have a hard time locating the child, even if this person does exist."

Sam jumped up and smiled, "Well, a lead is better than nothing." before rushing out of the room. Brandon watched him go before shrugging his shoulders and picking up a book that someone had laid out for him on his bedside table.

* * *

><p>Martin Grant was a bitter, old man who managed to pay the bills through his job, working as an officer for the South Yorkshire Police.<p>

He had been in the job for many years and as he was in his mid- fifties, he was looking forward to retirement in the next five years or so. Martin would always say that he deserved it, but truth be told, he managed to coast by through life.

However, he had been severely annoyed when he was given a call by his superior officer on his way home from the station. He was asked to check in on a warehouse in a nearby industrial estate in Doncaster.

He was slightly suspicious when he was told that whatever he saw there, he was to clean up and not to mention to anyone else...ever.

Yet, Martin frankly couldn't give a damn, as long as he was home in time to watch the monotonous TV that had filled his so-called social life for as long as he could remember.

It was only a ten minute detour from his commute in order to reach the warehouse, and Martin was still surprised at what he saw when he got there.

Inside the warehouse, crates had been smashed to pieces and their contents were scattered around. It looked like holes had been burnt through some of the walls and more importantly, a large man was impaled on a forklift and his lifeless body was pushed up against the far wall.

Martin Grant gulped and began to sweat profusely as he slowly pulled out his mobile. He redialled the number that had given him the order to visit the warehouse and said, "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but I've just reached the warehouse. I think it'll take more than just me to clear this place up."

* * *

><p>It was pitch black. If anything, this only amplified the sound of a man roaring in anger and unleashing his fury on the nearest wall.<p>

The man cried, "So what you're telling me Acrid, is that you actually had him there, at your mercy, and now he has escaped along with all the others who we have spent months tracking and capturing?"

Whilst holding a piece of cloth to his head to stem the flow of blood, Duncan Meadows unwillingly spoke, "Yes Lord Drake, that sounds about right."

The man roared once again as he spun around, his whip catching the other side of Duncan's head and bruising t in the process, "Imbecile! Why am I surrounded by you fools?"

He then, despite the lack of light, sensed the woman that stood next to the young boy. "And you..." he hissed, "You have returned whilst both Jussi and Brandon have not?"

"That's correct Lord Drake, but through no fault of my own." Maria Lowry muttered silently.

Drake sneered, "Typical woman. Always. Blaming. Others."

He then made her feel the immense pain of his whip on her flesh as recompense for her incompetence before sending her away to reflect on her mistakes.

From the corner of the room, after Maria had left, a girlish voice giggled, "So much for equal rights, hey Lord Drake. I know you hate women, but honestly, you could try to disguise it a bit more."

"Hold your tongue, Accelta, or I will cut it out for you."

The teenage girl named Accelta sighed, "Whatever you say Lord Drake, but I told you this would happen. I told you Duncan was not ready."

Duncan snarled after hearing this and he yelled, "Shut it Gaby, or I'll make you burn!"

The girl laughed, "Wow, who's a big boy!" She then said sarcastically, "Well, maybe I underestimated you after all Duncan."

Duncan cursed under his breath, but he knew it would do no good to lash out. Instead, he turned away and listened to Drake as he said, "So, Accelta, what do you propose we do next?"

"I think we continue to search for other mutants, after all, that was the original plan. But, I have a little side mission to spice things up a bit. Duncan, did you manage to catch any of their names?"

Duncan replied, "Just one. I eroded his arm away, but he was the one who really stopped us from getting away with Temple and the others. Daniel King."

Drake smiled cruelly after hearing this, before saying, "Yes, I think we will continue to build our forces for the foreseeable future. But for now; Accelta, Acrid…get Vapouris. You're going to pay the King family a visit they'll never forget."

**Hey guys and girls! I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded in something crazy like 5 months, but I've been incredibly busy with my other fanfics and school. Exams are coming up, so if it is even possible, I will be even busier over the coming weeks. However, I have recently read 'Fear' (and loved it by the way!) and I felt compelled to write another IMA Chapter! (I also wanted you all to know that I still intend to continue with this fanfic and I hope this new chapter makes you all really happy!)**

**So, I hope you enjoyed it and I think this is the start of what you could say is the next arc in the story. As always, I love to hear your opinion on this chapter and on the fanfic as a whole, so please don't be afraid to review, send me a message or even contact me on Twitter.**

**PS. I will still accept any OCs you guys have for me if they are really interesting with creative powers that none of the current characters have. The OC form is on the first chapter, and I also want to add that not all of your OCs have to be at the academy all ready. If you want, they can be in their own respective countries and their powers may or may not have surfaced yet. Finally, they don't all have to be good. If you want your OC to fight for Drake's side, just let me know! **


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